Naruto: Tornado of Souls
by Thayerblue1
Summary: A crossover between Naruto and RWBY. Starts during the Chunin Exams and takes place in the Naruto universe. Main Characters are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata/Cinder Fall, Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos. See inside for details.
1. Chapter 1

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

My writing has been a real mess lately and I decided to try something new and (hopefully) different to get the juices flowing again. The pairing for this story is Naruto & a **VERY** different Cinder Fall/Hyūga Hinata  & Pyrrha Nikos. That is all explained here in the opening chapter. This is an AU in the Naruto Universe starting with Volume 9 chapter 80 of Naruto "Crossing the Limit…" and Volume 3 chapter 12 of RWBY "End of the Beginning." As for continuing this it's a plot idea I've played with for a long time. I've had many people suggest a Naruto/RWBY crossover to me on several occasions but there are so many crossovers of these two titles that I couldn't think of anything original. If someone else has used this idea before then I apologize in advance as I have not seen it. I'm treating this as a prologue/one shot for now with the option of continuing it if it goes over. I really should be concentrating on my other stuff.

Chapter 1

 **Fire Country, Chunin Exams Preliminaries**

Hyūga Neji vs. Hyūga Hinata

The Hyūga Heiress Hinata felt herself faltering against the rage of her cousin Neji's angry assault. He had lost all sense of reason and was trying with all his might to kill her after she rebuked his blind obsession with fate. The jonin ninjas there stopped Neji before he could deliver the final blow but the damage was done. Hinata collapsed as the damage to her organs was so severe that her life was on the line. As she lost consciousness she saw Naruto checking on her. '…. _Naruto-kun….I wonder if I've changed at all_ ….' were her last thoughts before the medical ninjas rushed Hinata away for emergency medical treatment.

….

 **Remnant**

Pyrrha Nikos was dead and Cinder Fall was now the Fall Maiden….Ruby Rose watched in horror as her friend Pyrrha's body turned to dust. Ruby screamed and a blinding white light emanated from her silver eyes. Cinder Fall was enveloped in light from the unexpected attack from Ruby and felt her body disintegrating. ' _What….what has that silver eyed little witch done to me? I'm….I'm the Fall Maiden…._ _ **NO DAMN IT! I have too much to accomplish here! I….WILL….NOT…DIE!**_ ' An unholy roar emerged from Cinder as she felt her body turn to dust….and she ceased to exist.

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha Hospital**

Hyūga Hinata awoke in the Konoha hospital. Her body was a complete wreck. She blearily faded in and out of consciousness and saw her body in the bed below her. All she was now was a fading spirit….Hinata _knew_ she was dying as the heart monitor flat lined. Hinata's eyes focused upwards on a beautiful black haired woman with amber eyes that seemed to be made of flame. Cinder Fall stared downwards at a pretty girl with pearl like lavender eyes and porcelain skin. They both floated there feeling desperate, angry and betrayed. ' ** _It_** _wasn't_ _ **supposed**_ _to_ _ **happen**_ _this_ _ **way**_ _. I_ _ **refuse**_ _to_ _ **give**_ _up_ _ **!**_ ' They both thought as they touched each other's ethereal hands and their souls began to surge violently and unwillingly. Their energy clashed and dissimilar powers arced between them. In the strange vortex both young women felt fear and a rush of excitement as their souls became one….The last thought they had as individuals was, ' ** _Yes…_** _with_ _ **this**_ _power_ _ **….I**_ _will_ _ **live!**_ ' After that all went black.

….

The heart monitors steadied out and Hyūga Hinata's temperature had fallen back to normal. The Doctor on hand said, "….The gods must have been on her side the last two hours. I've never seen anything like this. Hinata-sama's temperature and blood pressure was so high that she should have died from that alone. All the other readings have me completely baffled. We can only hope she didn't suffer any sort of brain damage. All the other changes have returned to normal."

A medic reported, "All of our medical scans show that everything is normal but we'll have to watch for lingering effects. If these scans are accurate her body is actually healing at an accelerated rate!"

"She also now has that black symbol on her back with a heart shape in the middle." said another nurse. "I'd mistake it for a tattoo but it _appeared on its own_."

Doctor Kansai nodded. "Keep her carefully monitored; especially that enzyme reaction that seems tied to her healing. I'm going to inform the Hokage about that tribal emblem on her back. It's not something we can deal with medically. Have we heard anything from the Hyūga Clan? Hinata-sama is their _clan heiress_ after all."

One of the other nurses shook her head sadly. "Hiashi-sama is too busy with Clan matters and is unavailable. What a cold man."

The Doctor Kansai growled, "He can't be bothered when his _own daughter's_ life is on the line? _That son of a bitch!_ "

….

 _Hyūga Hinata's (?) mindscape…._

 _A young woman with porcelain skin and indigo hair was staring into a pool of water. Her pearl like eyes held an edge; a spark of anger and determination quite unlike Hyūga Hinata. The reflection in the water faded back and forth between the image of Hyūga Hinata and that of Cinder Fall. "It seems that I'm_ _ **both**_ _Hyūga Hinata and Cinder Fall now." said the young woman clinically. She smiled coldly as her byakugan eyes turned to flame and her hands became aglow with fire. "Yes….this will do quite nicely._ _ **Dust**_ _….Who needs it? I have chakra now. My aura is sharp as a razor. I underestimated Neji's vile hatred of me. I'll have to_ _ **punish**_ _him severely for that." She cupped her well developed bosom for her age and grinned. "To think that Hyūga Hinata had this all along is quite impressive. Cinder Fall had a lot of growing to do at this age before she got the likes of these. I'm sure Naruto-kun will like them_ _ **very**_ _much."_

 _Spinning around and admiring her body the young woman giggled. "It seems that I look like Hinata with some changes; particularly around my eyes. I need to grow this hair out and get some clothes that show off my figure instead of hiding it. I can't call myself Cinder Fall….but I can't really go by Hyūga Hinata either. I'm not either of them. I'm_ _ **much**_ _more." She sighed and then nodded to herself. "I have to keep up the pretence I'm Hinata for now; or at least the_ _ **old**_ _Hinata. Once I'm ready I'll make the Hyūga Clan_ _ **dance**_ _to the tune of my flames. They will learn their place is firmly under_ _ **my**_ _foot. The foot of the_ _ **Fall Maiden**_ _."_

….

 ** _In the next room in Konoha Hospital_** ….

ANBU Tiger was looking over a sleeping red haired young woman. She was a teenager and rather beautiful with fair skin and green eyes. "So what's the story on this one?" he asked the two chunins present.

The male chunin said, "We mistook her for dead when we found her in the Forest of Death and she's in a coma. She was wearing the clothing of a Taki ninja but her uniform was torn apart and bloodied. Her two teammates were dead as well. It seems that giant tigers got all of them."

"She looks plenty alive to me." said Tiger dubiously.

The female chunin said irritably, "Look, we told you we _mistook_ her for dead. She had entrails and blood all over her but physically she's unharmed."

The first chunin added, "If that wasn't mysterious enough; here is her ninja I.D."

Tiger looked at a picture of a heavy set _male_ ninja in the photo. "Ise Kato, height 6 foot 6 inches, weight 270 pounds."

The woman said, "The clothing was the correct size for someone of Ise Kato's build and weight. It's like someone dragged Ise's dead body off and put this girl in his place clothes, entrails and all -but there were no sign the body was tampered with _at all_."

"Then we have no idea who she is." said Tiger.

"Precisely." said the two chunins as one.

Tiger shook his head. "I guess we'll have to wait for her to wake up then….if she wakes up."

 _Pyrrha Nikos' (?) mindscape…._

 _Pyrrha was sitting and staring at herself in a mirror like wall. "Okay, so I look a couple of years younger and I'm speaking a different language like it's my own. Also, I have chakra instead of just my aura. I have something called magnet release….and I know 'jutsus.' It's like someone poured all their knowledge of this world in my head and just vanished. I know he was a male but….the guy was too weak to carry on and disappeared. He just gave up. All I remember him saying is; '_ _ **I leave it to you**_ _.' Before that I remember losing to Cinder Fall. I was sure I felt my body turn to dust. She_ _ **killed**_ _me. Now I'm in this dream like world."_

 _The redhead sighed. "I feel like I'm asleep. I know my body just isn't ready to wake up yet. I guess I'll have to hurry up and wait."_

….

"Doctor Kansai, we've got a match. The same odd enzyme reactions in the Hyūga Heiress are in the unnamed red haired girl from the Forest of Death." said one of the nurses. "Both of their bodies are healing, changing and mutating rapidly. Hyūga Hinata's chakra coils are growing and thickening at an exponential rate. We have no previous records on the redhead to compare to but her chakra coils are growing at an unnaturally rapid rate as well."

The Doctor shook his head. "This is unbelievable. Perhaps they picked up the condition in the forest itself. I'm ordering them quarantined together until further notice. I want everyone that was in the Chunin Examinations in that Forest screened. If it's some kind of unknown contagion we need to clamp down on it fast."

"Have we found out more about the redhead's identity sir?" asked another medic.

"No, the Taki ninjas won't claim her." said Doctor Kansai shaking his head in disappointment. "We have no idea who the young woman is. She's as alone as the Hyūga Heiress is."

 **Uzumaki Naruto's apartment**

The next morning Naruto was grouching as he, Sasuke and Sakura were being marched to the hospital at virtual kunai point by their Jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi.

"I don't think any of us need to be _stabbed with needles_ after the Forest of Death Kakashi-sensei." said Naruto as he led them down the rickety stairs from his apartment. "I _hate_ needles!"

"Stop whining Naruto-baka!" screeched Sakura. "There was some kind of disease out there in Training Ground 44 and we need to be screened for it. _I_ don't want to be sick even if _you_ do!"

"Hnnnn…." muttered Sasuke. "I wonder why it wasn't known about before."

Kakashi just eye smiled. "You all are being checked for it just in case. I'm being checked too. It may be something as mild as the flu. Just stay calm."

Most of the Chunin Exams participants had already been checked over by the time Team Seven arrived at the Hospital.

 **Konoha Hospital, Intensive Care**

Various medical tests were being conducted on the still comatose Hinata and Pyrrha. "These chakra patterns in their coils are consistent with someone using jutsus of various types." said an ANBU sensor codenamed Hawk. "The Hyūga Heiress is showing patterns of fire and lightning elements. Have her affinities ever been tested? Hyūgas tend to be earth types."

"The information we have from her Jonin Sensei Yuuhi Kurenai is Hinata-sama has never been tested but that doesn't mean the Hyūgas themselves have never checked." answered a medic nin.

"Find out from the Hyūga Clan by ANBU authority." Hawk turned to her comrade Deer. "Better yet, can you see the Hyūga Clan head, Deer? Hiashi-sama is stubborn but if he won't bend to ANBU's authority then threaten to escalate it to the Hokage's attention."

Deer nodded to her comrade. "I'm on it Hawk. The Hyūgas have their own clan doctors so they probably have records we don't." Deer vanished in a body flicker.

Hawk shook her head, "Using chakra and basically performing jutsus while in a coma? This is unprecedented…."

 _Hinata's mindscape…._

 _The Fall Maiden was moving about combining all her knowledge of the martial arts, shooting and swordplay of Remnant with the incomparable juken and the byakugan of the Hyūga Clan. Carefully adding flames to her juken strikes the 'new' Hinata gracefully danced about on the top of a lake in her mindscape. As she moved about she tried to extend her flexibility more so she could do the same with her physical body. Something inside of her psyche instinctually knew that the training she was doing inside her mind was having an effect on her still changing physical body. Deciding to push herself harder she went into the motions of an_ _ **Eight trigrams: thirty two flame palms**_ _followed by a_ _ **Flame kaiten**_ _._

 _Hinata sat down on the water huffing and puffing from the exertion. "I….I'm still not powerful enough to pull off a sixty-four palms yet. I won't be able to perfect it before I awake. Damn; I have to grow stronger. I can manipulate my flames as well as Cinder could but combining them with Hinata's juken takes effort. It's difficult to believe how much Hinata held back because she didn't like hurting others. Of course_ _ **I**_ _don't have that issue….There won't be any doubts in Hiashi or the Elder's heads as to who the_ _ **true**_ _heiress is…." Opening her eyes her byakugan ignited into golden flame and sent pillars of fire dancing about her with complete precision. Maneuvering the firestorm around her in complex patterns like a conductor over an orchestra, the Fall Maiden built the fire up into a crescendo before she flashed her right hand outwards in a cutting motion and conflagration vanished…._

 _"_ _ **I want to be strong. I want to be feared. I want to be powerful. I will never give up**_ _…." said the Fall Maiden in a mantra to herself._

….

 _Pyrrha's Mindscape…._

 _"_ _I no longer have my javelin or shield but with the control over magnetism I now have there is absolutely no reason I can't_ _ **make**_ _one at will." Pyrrha knew she had died and the very thought haunted her. "Where am I now? I'm training myself in this dream world but I have no idea why I'm so driven to do so." The red haired teen remembered a phrase passed down to her from the past:_ _"_ _ **For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee**_ _."_

 _"_ _Is this what that old proverb meant?" she wondered as she formed an exact replica of her shield that she carried in her first life. Pyrrha formed a fist with her right hand and the metal around her conformed to her will. "My control over magnetism is exponentially greater than it was when I was alive. When I wake up I will be stronger than I ever was before…." The redhead went through her combat stances with various weapons before nodding to herself. "I will use this new power to protect those in need of my strength._ _ **I will never falter before my enemies again**_ _."_

….

"What about the red haired kunoichi?" asked Doctor Kansai as Hawk monitored both comatose girls.

Hawk answered, "The redhead is also displaying chakra usage patterns. Her patterns are consistent with wind and earth patterns. As I've watched both young women seem to go through patterns of building up the stronger and more chakra intensive exercises and then go through rest patterns. It's as if I was sensing someone go through a workout and a cool down period only to repeat the pattern after some rest. Have we had any luck identifying the redheaded kunoichi yet Doctor?"

Kansai shook his head. "No. DNA tests show no noticeable genetic markers to affiliate her with any known ninja clan in our records. Of course there are lots of clans out there were don't know of. It's safe to say we can't trace her lineage to anyone in Konoha anyway."

"What about Taki?" asked Hawk.

"No records there either." said Doctor Kansai. "Taki is allied with us so we have records of most of their clans. This girl is a total mystery."

 **With Naruto** ….

Naruto put his jacket back on having gone through the tests for the 'mystery disease' from the Forest of Death. "You are clean genin Uzumaki." said the nurse. It was obvious to Naruto that this woman held a great deal of disdain for him. She had been intentionally rough with the needle.

The orange loving ninja said to her, "Thanks for nothing hag. It's damned obvious you tried _extra hard_ to hurt me with that needle. I'm sure the Hokage would _love_ to hear about that."

"Just get out you little monster." growled the nurse. Naruto hopped up and gave her the finger on the way out the door. He smiled meanly at her look of anger and constipation as he left.

' _Old bitch_ ….' Naruto growled mentally. He saw Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba sitting on a bench in the hall. "Hey Shino; hey Kiba! Are you here to get checked too?"

Kiba turned to Naruto with a flat look on his face. "I still can't believe I lost to _you_ in the preliminaries…."

Naruto frowned. "You're still upset about that? My chakra is **_still_** a mess thanks to that snake creep in the Forest of Death. It was a miracle I beat you at all. That's beside the point. Did you both get screened?"

Shino nodded. "We're both fine Naruto. We were among the first tested because of Hinata."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean _because of Hinata?_ Is Hinata okay? I wanted to visit her after that fight against Neji."

Kiba said in a worried tone, "Hinata is one of those that are sick from it. She's in a coma. We're really worried."

" _WHAT?!_ " asked Naruto. "Hinata is in a coma? We need to see her right now!"

Shino grabbed Naruto's shoulder and pulled him down to sit with him and Kiba. The bug user said quietly, "Naruto-san. They won't even let our sensei Kurenai in to see Hinata. She is quarantined. That is why we are sitting out here waiting."

"Hinata is such a nice girl though." said Naruto sadly. "She doesn't deserve this."

Kurenai came around the corner and saw Naruto sitting with her students. "Hello Uzumaki; shouldn't you be training with Kakashi?"

Naruto said seriously, "Hinata's health is more important right now. I just found out she is sick….Besides, Kakashi-sensei ditched me to train Sasuke. He said to practice with chakra control with Ebisu but my chakra is all messed up."

Kurenai smiled slightly. "I'm sure Hinata will be glad to hear you have been worried for her Uzumaki. What do you mean about your chakra being messed up?"

Naruto explained, "The snake creep Orochimaru knocked me out in the Forest of Death when he hit me in the stomach with a ' _Five Elements Seal_ ' or something like that. I haven't been able to mold my chakra properly since."

The red eyed jonin got a shocked look on her face. "You beat Kiba even though you had a Five Element Seal on you? That's unbelievable!"

"What's unbelievable sensei?" asked Kiba.

"Uzumaki's chakra flow is completely out of whack Kiba." explained Kurenai. She turned to Naruto. "The only person I can think of that can fix that is Hokage-sama or Jiraiya-sama."

"Who is this Jiraiya person Kurenai-sensei?" asked Kiba.

Shino shook his head. "Jiraiya-sama is one of the three Legendary Sanins; also known as the Toad Sage."

Kurenai added in a cold tone, "He's also a legendary pervert." All three boys suddenly got a sinking feeling. Kurenai turned back to Naruto. "At any rate, you need to see Hokage-sama straightaway Uzumaki. We'll keep an eye on Hinata-chan while you get that taken care of." Naruto nodded and shot away to see the Hokage.

Kiba sat there stewing and said, "Kurenai-sensei, are you saying that Naruto beat me even though I had a huge advantage?"

Kurenai nodded. "It seems I underestimated Uzumaki Naruto. He had a tremendous handicap when he fought you. I guess I owe him an apology for not taking him seriously."

 **Hokage Tower**

Naruto came trotting in, avoided the Hokage's angry secretary (as usual) and let himself into the Hokage's Office without knocking (also as usual). "Hokage Jiji; we have a problem!"

The Hokage peered around his paperwork and said, "I'm surprised you aren't training for the Chunin Exam Finals Naruto-kun. What brings you here? I assure you that Kakashi is quite capable of training you."

Naruto face faulted. "Kakashi-sensei is training Sasuke and Kurenai-sensei sent me to see you. Orochimaru slapped a Five Element Seal on me and Kurenai-sensei says you can get rid of it Jiji."

The Third Hokage got a shocked look and stood up. "Take off your jacket and show me your stomach Naruto-kun." Naruto tossed his beat up orange jacket aside and lifted up his black tee shirt exposing his seal. "Now channel some chakra my boy." instructed Sarutobi. Examining the pattern the Third Hokage said, "Brace yourself Naruto." Seeing Naruto nod Hiruzen said, "Five Elements Unseal!" and hit Naruto in the stomach with enough force to knock the wind out of the young genin.

Naruto fell on his duff and said, " ** _Damn_** Jiji! Was that really necessary?"

Hiruzen smiled and nodded. "Rather than complaining try to channel some chakra."

"Okay Jiji." said Naruto as he stood back up. "Here I go!" Naruto made a ram seal and focused his chakra. Any explosion of blue chakra flared around him like a blazing flame. Hiruzen was shocked but weathered it well enough. The three ANBU is the office were bowled over and became visible in an instant. "Wow Jiji; this is awesome!" said the excited blonde. I'm not even going full blast either."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. ' _I'm probably going to regret this_ ….' "Then show me full blast Naruto-kun."

….The shockwave nearly blew the door off the Hokage's Office and the windows were blown to smithereens. Naruto's voice was heard outside. " ** _Whoa!_** This is so cool Jiji!"

The Third Hokage looked at his demolished office and thought, '…. _Yes, I'm definitely regretting this_ ….' "Okay Naruto, stop focusing chakra for now. There is never a dull moment when you are around is there?"

One of the ANBU sat there gaping and pointed to a pile of confetti on the corner of the Hokage's wrecked desk. "Ummm….Hokage-sama; wasn't that a full ream of very _expensive_ chakra paper?"

Hiruzen gawked at the shredded remnants of what was once hundreds of sheets of chakra paper. Picking up a tiny piece Hiruzen said, "Naruto-kun, channel a bit of chakra through this little bit of paper."

Naruto took the small piece of chakra paper from Hiruzen and said, "Okay Hokage Jiji." The paper seemed to explode into hair like pieces in a second. "That was weird." said the orange loving ninja. "I wish written tests would do that."

The elderly Hokage snatched one of the tiny pieces out of the air and saw it was sliced cleanly as a surgeon would. "Do you know what this means Naruto-kun?"

"Paper hates me?" asked Naruto totally clueless.

The ANBU face faulted and Hiruzen sweat dropped. "It means you have one of the strongest wind affinities I have ever _seen_ Naruto. This affinity is on par with Tobirama-sensei's water affinity!"

"This is some party you're holding here Sarutobi-sensei." said a man with long white hair as he slipped into the office through the blown out window. "Did someone set off a bomb? I felt the chakra wave all the way over in the Hot Springs district."

"Who is this old dude Jiji?" asked Naruto as he pointed his thumb at Jiraiya.

The Third Hokage sweat dropped again and said, "Naruto, this is my old student Jiraiya. Jiraiya, this is Uzumaki Naruto whose wind affinity did this to a sheet of chakra paper." he said as he motioned to the tiny fragments of paper still floating around in the air.

Jiraiya's eyes bulged as he grabbed a couple of strings of paper out of the air. "How long has he trained on this affinity sensei?" asked Jiraiya.

"He _hasn't_ trained with it _at all_ Jiraiya." deadpanned Hiruzen.

As Jiraiya's eyes grew even larger he looked Naruto over. "Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Kid, I'm Jiraiya the great Toad Sage and I'm officially going to train you as my pupil." ' _I had NO idea about this. Naruto is a ball of potential_.'

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Kurenai-sensei says you are some kind of pervert; no thanks."

Now Hiruzen face faulted. "Naruto-kun; Jiraiya trained your hero the Fourth Hokage. Trust me when I say he is a very good teacher. You could learn a lot from him. Jiraiya; no playing around. Train him seriously."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto, threw him over one shoulder and said, "Consider it done sensei." The Toad Sannin then left through the broken window and dashed off with Naruto screaming about child abduction the whole way….

The Third Hokage looked around his demolished office and said, "Who is going to clean up this mess?"

 **Konoha Hospital, Intensive Care**

The next morning, the Fall Maiden opened her eyes. Looking around she realized she was in the hospital with numerous monitors hooked up to her. ' _How long have I been asleep?'_ she wondered. Raising her delicate hand she made a fist and felt her power surge. ' _This is good….I feel fine. My body is overflowing with energy_.'

About that time a nurse came rushing in. Hinata's heart monitors had jumped up when she awoke and the staff was afraid that that she was going to have another attack. The nurse saw Hinata's pearl like byakugan eyes looking at her intensely as if Hinata was judging her. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Hinata smiled in a cold way and the heiress said, "Well hello there nurse-san. How long was I out? The last I remember I lost my fight to my cousin."

The nurse answered, "Hinata-sama, I'm so glad you've awakened. You were in a comatose state for three days. How do you feel?"

"I feel….strong." said Hinata. Her eyes flickered with a hidden flame. "I'll be happy to get up and around. I'm hungry as well."

"A healthy appetite is a good sign." said the nurse. "I'll alert the staff you've awakened. Please don't move as you are in quarantine with another young kunoichi. You both picked up a contagion in the Forest of Death from what we can tell. We feared the worst but it seems you are all right after all." The nurse excused herself to get the Doctor.

Doctor Kansai came in along with ANBU Hawk a few moments later. "Hyūga Hinata-sama, welcome back to the world of the living." said the Doctor with a smile. "I'm Doctor Kansai, your physician. It was very touch and go there for a while. We're going to need to check you over thoroughly before we release you to make sure you are completely well."

Hinata nodded. "The nurse said I had had some sort of affliction along with another kunoichi."

"Yes, ANBU Hawk and I have been monitoring both of you for days." said Kansai.

"Do I know this other kunoichi?" asked Hinata as she sat up.

Hawk spoke up. "You shouldn't move around too much Hinata-sama. The other kunoichi isn't from Konoha. We don't even know her name." Hawk pulled the curtain separating the two girls and the Fall Maiden's eyes widened when she saw the sleeping form of Pyrrha Nikos lying there peacefully. "Do you recognize her?" asked Hawk.

Hinata pondered back and forth. ' _It seems Ruby Rose somehow sent Pyrrha Nikos and Cinder Fall into another realm of existence. I'd murder Pyrrha but I may need her. Besides, she may know things I don't_.' Hinata turned back to Hawk. "I _think_ her name is Pyrrha but I'm not one hundred percent sure. I met her during the second stage of the chunin exams at some point. I don't really recall who she was even affiliated with. It's a bit blurry I'm afraid." ' _There, that gives Pyrrha an identity but she will be monitored by the ANBU. I suspect she must have combined with someone else as well though I can't be sure. The main thing is she can't interfere with my plans for now….once I come up with some that is_ ….'

….

After Hinata was moved to another room and checked over physically; ANBU Hawk asked Hinata many questions and gave her a psyche test to make sure the Hyūga Heiress was mentally intact. Hinata feigned ignorance of any knowledge between Neji trying to kill her and waking up in the hospital. The Fall Maiden knew whoever Hawk was that she was from the Yamanaka Clan. After hours of endless questions ANBU Hawk thanked Hinata for her time and left to submit her ANBU report….

….

 **ANBU Headquarters**

ANBU Hawk was speaking to the Hokage and Morino Ibiki. "Subject Hyūga Hinata shows all signs of her mental facilities being perfectly intact but her behavior isn't exactly a match compared to her previous psychiatric evaluation when she first became a genin."

"Explain your observations Hawk." said the Third Hokage.

"Our previous psyche profiles showed Hyūga Hinata as a very shy and introverted person who lacked confidence. She was socially awkward and spoke with a stutter." explained Hawk. "The Hyūga Hinata I spoke with today seemed to be confident and commanding. There were no signs of shyness or speech issues. In our discussion I felt that I was talking to a veteran kunoichi rather than a wet behind the ears genin. It is difficult to reconcile the two Hokage-sama."

"Perhaps the harrowing experiences she had during the Chunin Exams forced her to adapt." said Hiruzen. "It wouldn't be the first time I've seen a youngster grow up quickly in warlike situations."

"Should we have ANBU monitor her as a precaution?" asked Ibiki.

The Third Hokage shook his head. "She is very close to her sensei Yuuhi Kurenai. I'll leave her in Kurenai's capable hands. Besides, young Hinata belongs to the most observant clan in Konoha. If something is amiss I have no doubts they will notice."

….

 **Konoha Hospital**

' _I'm just not capable of acting as meek as Hinata was!_ ' growled the Fall Maiden to herself mentally. ' _Still, I have many goals to achieve. I want Naruto-kun to be my boyfriend. I want to crush Neji. I want to bring Hiashi and the rest of the clan to heel. I have to protect Hanabi-chan_ ….(sigh). _I have so much to do. I guess the first thing to do is get stronger. Actually getting to know Naruto-kun should take precedence. Now that I think about it getting out of this damn hospital should be my primary goal; that and_ _ **Naruto-kun**_ _….EEEP! My face is heating up! Give me a break!_ '

Poor girl; so much to do and so little time….

….

Hyūga Kō was at the hospital to escort Hinata-sama home. He'd been sent with some fresh clothing since her kunoichi uniform was battered and bloodied. ' _I have to bolster Hinata-sama's confidence. Losing to Neji-san is bad enough but when she finds out Hiashi-sama never bothered to visit her in the hospital she'll be crushed. On the positive side Hanabi-sama wanted to visit though it wasn't allowed_.' When Kō arrived he knocked and Hinata told him to enter. "I've brought you some fresh clothing Hinata-sama."

Hinata turned to him and her eyes seemed to blaze for a split second before she smiled. "Thank you for bringing me some clothing Kō. I'll change if you'll wait outside."

"Of course Hinata-sama." said Kō as he bowed before exiting.

Hinata got on her baggy clothes and thought to herself. (Sigh) ' _No wonder Naruto-kun never noticed Hinata. I suppose a shopping spree is in order. I may not be able to_ _ **physically**_ _beat Hiashi at this point but putting a dent in his finances will certainly teach him a lesson about giving_ _ **me**_ _the cold shoulder. This will be a nice little present for_ _ **dear old Daddy**_.' Exiting the room where she changed Hinata said to Kō, "Unless you have orders otherwise from Hiashi-sama I believe I'm in need of some new gear. It's been a long time since I overhauled my wardrobe."

Kō said, "I don't believe that would be an issue Hinata-sama." ' _Poor girl, she never treats herself to anything. Perhaps this will cheer her up a bit_.'

…. _Three hours later_ ….

Hinata was polishing of her fifth cinnamon bun and was erotically licking her fingers clean of the frosting. "I have to say Kō; these cinnamon buns are _so good_ it's positively _sinful_. Are you sure you don't want any?"

Kō looked like he was ready to faint. He had a pile of heavy boxes with him _full_ of women's clothing from formalwear all the way down to the raciest intimates. ' _Oh. My. Gawd. Hiashi-sama is going to have an aneurism when he sees all this_ …. _I had no idea Hinata-sama had….developed so much_.' he thought embarrassed. Kō had no idea why Hinata-sama decided she should grow her hair out or why she suddenly favored dark red, gold and black (like Cinder Fall wore). Hinata had always dressed very conservatively. ' _Perhaps it's just a phase. I do wonder why she got a dress made of chakra conductive fabric though. All she said is it might get too hot otherwise….whatever that means_.'

Hinata smiled rather evilly. "Let's go home Kō. I do believe I've spent enough money for _today_." ' _Just you wait and see my Naruto-kun. I just can't_ _ **wait**_ _for you to see some of these outfits_.' Giggling evilly, Hinata led her poor guardian Kō back to the Hyūga Clan Compound.

 **Training ground 53**

Jiraiya was sitting on top of a hill spying on some girls swimming in a nearby waterfall while giggling perversely. He had a couple of shadow clones beating up/training Naruto and the boy's own clones while he 'researched.' About that time the original Naruto emerged from a nearby pit of mud courtesy of Jiraiya's _Swamp of the Underworld_ jutsu. Naruto quietly split out a glob of mud and his blue eyes blazed with the depravity of one possessed. Grinning madly the mud covered boy leaped upon his new sensei Jiraiya with a full body tackle that sent them both tumbling down the hill into the pool with all the girls. Mud flew everywhere as they splashed into the water. Jiraiya emerged from the pool gasping for breath as the small swamp monster/Naruto gripped the sannin's neck only to pull him down again while growling " ** _Welcome to HELL Ero-sennin! It's time to DIE!_** "

Jiraiya screeched as Naruto bit him and yelled, "That hurt you orange wearing brat!" The young ladies screamed and ran as Jiraiya pleaded for them to come back….before he got pulled under the water again….

Naruto and Jiraiya were already bonding it seemed….

 **Konoha Hospital**

Pyrrha Nikos opened her green eyes and saw she was in a hospital. ' _Where am I? Is this that Konoha place? I must be in a hospital of some type. Last I remember I was in the Forest of Death_.'

A nurse came in a few minutes later as Pyrrha's elevated heartbeat indicated she might be waking up like Hinata did that morning. "Are you awake young lady? Can you tell me your name?" asked the nurse.

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos." answered the redhead. "I remember tigers and….and where am I now? I thought I died…."

"By some miracle you are alive Pyrrha-san." said the nurse. "You were found near your dead teammates."

Pyrrha's green eyes widened in confusion. "Teammates….I had teammates? Who were they?"

' _The poor girl is in mental shock_.' thought the nurse. ' _Not that I particularly blame her_.' "You just stay put Pyrrha-san. You've been in a coma for days. I'm going to get a doctor okay?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Okay….Can I have some food?"

"Certainly you can Pyrrha-san. Just sit tight." said the nurse as she went to get a doctor.

(Sigh) ' _This is going to be a bumpy ride_.' thought Pyrrha tiredly. ' _I'll just stick with what little memories I have that belonged to the dead ninja_ …. _My life in Remnant has no bearing here_ …. '

POSTSCRIPT:

Okay, so in a nutshell Hinata and Cinder Fall are now one person that refers to herself as the _Fall Maiden_. She isn't quite as bad as Cinder but she's certainly not pure like Hinata either. She doesn't like Hiashi. She _does_ like Naruto though. Will she go for Naruto or Total World Domination first? (Probably both; she seems like that kind of girl). Pyrrha is temporarily stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Will the _Fall Maiden_ help her out or throw Pyrrha to the proverbial dogs? Lastly I've tweaked Naruto a bit. I always felt that Jiraiya could teach Naruto if they both took it seriously. The wind affinity would make them both realize Naruto has a lot of potential provided they don't kill each other first. Naruto learned the Rasengan in mere days during the search for Tsunade. Who's to say he couldn't learn more than Toad Summoning and more in a whole month? Blue out. 5/13/16


	2. Chapter 2

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I was afraid this story would be a little too pedestrian but it seems okay. On that note, I've decided to continue this as a secondary story meaning it is active but there is no particular update schedule. I'm going to be referring to the Fall Maiden as Hinata or Fall Maiden interchangeably because no one else in the story knows who she actually is (yet). Without further ado, here is chapter 2. Enjoy!

Last time:

 ** _Konoha Hospital_**

 _Pyrrha Nikos opened her green eyes and saw she was in a hospital. '_ _Where am I? Is this that Konoha place? I must be in a hospital of some type. Last I remember I was in the Forest of Death_ _.'_

 _A nurse came in a few minutes later as Pyrrha's elevated heartbeat indicated she might be waking up like Hinata did that morning. "Are you awake young lady? Can you tell me your name?" asked the nurse._

 _"_ _I'm Pyrrha Nikos." answered the redhead. "I remember tigers and….and where am I now? I thought I died…."_

 _"_ _By some miracle you are alive Pyrrha-san." said the nurse. "You were found near your dead teammates."_

 _Pyrrha's green eyes widened in confusion. "Teammates….I had teammates? Who were they?"_

 _'_ _The poor girl is in mental shock_ _.' thought the nurse. '_ _Not that I particularly blame her_ _.' "You just stay put Pyrrha-san. You've been in a coma for days. I'm going to get a doctor okay?"_

 _Pyrrha nodded. "Okay….Can I have some food?"_

 _"_ _Certainly you can Pyrrha-san. Just sit tight." said the nurse as she went to get a doctor._

 _(Sigh) '_ _This is going to be a bumpy ride_ _.' thought Pyrrha tiredly. '_ _I'll just stick with what little memories I have that belonged to the dead ninja….My life in Remnant has no bearing here…._ _'_

Chapter 2

 **Fire Country, Konoha Hospital**

Early in the morning Yamanaka Inoichi was performing a mind walk on the mysterious young woman Pyrrha Nikos. She'd been uncomfortable with the idea of having someone inside her head (who wouldn't be?) but agreed to it anyway to prove she wasn't a threat or meant any harm to Konoha. The young red haired girl really had no other place to go.

Inoichi came out of his mind walk looking shocked and dazed. Anbu Hawk was there as well. "Did you see anything Inoichi-sama?" she asked in a concerned voice.

Inoichi patted the arm of his clansman Yamanaka Seiko (otherwise known as Hawk). "I'm alright Hawk. I have to say that Nikos-san is a unique case and honestly means no harm to Konoha. As unbelievable as it seems, I think her memories are from a reincarnation of her previous life. The memories there were far too complete and realistic for me to explain otherwise. Without violating patient-doctor confidentiality I can safely say she has two sets of memories and her memories of this life as a kunoichi have been ninety-nine percent obliterated."

"What makes you sure that she has memories of a previous life Inoichi-sama?" asked the ANBU.

"The second set of memories in her head are what I could only describe as being from another world." said Inoichi. "Different languages, different customs, different technology; her violent death….Those aren't planted memories. She's either completely insane or I saw memories of a past life….I'm positive it's the latter. I need to report this to Hokage-sama. Keep an eye on her Hawk. When she wakes up tell her nothing of what I've told you and that I will make a case in her favor to stay here in Konoha as a kunoichi. Her talent and abilities would be wasted otherwise."

Pyrrha woke up about twenty minutes later and blinked her green eyes. She saw Inoichi-san was gone and Hawk was nearby. "Hawk-san, what did Inoichi-san figure out?"

Hawk said, "Inoichi-sama is confident you mean no harm to anyone and believes you should be allowed to stay in Konoha. It is up to the Hokage as to what is decided but Inoichi-sama's opinion holds a lot of weight in these matters."

 **The Forest of Death**

Tsuchi Kin and Abumi Zaku were kneeling in front of their leader Orochimaru. Kin had a bandage around her head from the concussion that Nara Shikamaru gave her and Zaku was in terrible shape from his loss to Aburame Shino. He looked more dead than alive. Orochimaru said, "You two failed to advance in the Chunin Exams….You failed _me_ despite all the training and attention I lavished upon you…."

"I'm so sorry Orochimaru-sama!" said Kin. "We only wish to serve you. Please forgive us!"

Zaku said, "Once I'm recovered I will serve you without fail Orochimaru-sama. Please give us another chance!"

Both teens knew exactly how ruthless their leader could be and knew that he didn't tolerate failure _at all_.

Orochimaru paced around his two servants as if musing. "Well, despite your injuries I suppose the two of you did do your best. I have a small task for you two to perform. Do it well and all shall be forgiven."

"Thank you Orochimaru-sama! I promise I will succeed in this assignment." said Kin.

"We'll do our absolute best Orochimaru-sama." added Zaku.

Orochimaru smiled and said from behind them, "I know you will serve me well until the very end." Both of them felt a sharp stinging pain in their necks and their bodies went numb. They both lifelessly fell to the ground face first. Kin's eyes stared in terror as Orochimaru rolled her over where she could see him. Orochimaru said in a sugary tone, "You see, I'm planning to resurrect the dead First and Second Hokages using an interesting jutsu called the Edo Tensei. It is very complex and requires many ' _ingredients_ ' if you will. One of those _special ingredients_ is to sacrifice a human life to summon those back from the dead." The Snake Sannin summoned two coffins marked with the kanji for ' _First_ ' and ' _Second_.' "You two will serve me as those sacrifices so be proud knowing you've redeemed yourselves in my eyes."

Kin felt hot tears forming in her eyes. She was screaming inside her head but was completely paralyzed as she was placed in the First's coffin. "Don't you worry one bit." said Orochimaru as he sealed the lid of the coffin on Kin. She heard his muffled voice say, "You'll have plenty of time to reflect on your failures while you await your trip to the afterlife…."

Kin tried to scream but no sound came out. ' _What have I done to deserve such treatment?! I was loyal to Orochimaru-sama body and soul! I swear that somehow someway I will have_ _ **revenge!**_ ' The Oto kunoichi knew no more as the coffin sank into the ground….

 **Hyūga Compound**

Hyūga Haishi _apparently_ hadn't paid much attention to his eldest daughter - _the so called failure's_ \- return yesterday. Actually he had been terribly concerned about her and keeping up his pretense of disdain for her was tearing him up inside. Hiashi hadn't seen her since she returned and Hinata seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him. The morning had been lonely and very pedestrian at best…. Actually the _only_ thing out of the ordinary today was Elder Majo's strange behavior. Haishi detested the old woman (Actually _everyone_ in the clan detested the old woman). One of Majo's hobbies was berating Hinata. The old witch was hateful as could be but she wielded enough political power to upset the balance in the Hyūga Main Branch Council. As a result Hiashi had to remain respectful no matter how much he'd like to strangle her. Now the normally unshakeable, evil old woman seemed to be afraid of her own shadow….

 _Flashback…._

 _Yesterday afternoon Hinata came home with her Guardian Kō and Elder Majo took it upon herself to pay Hinata a visit. When she got to Hinata's room she found the Heiress was putting her new things away neatly in the low light of evening. The old woman said in a disgusted and condescending tone, "Well, well Hinata. I see you shamed the main house_ _ **once again**_ _. How can you show your face after dragging the reputation of the Main House through the mud as you have?"_

 _The Heiress wasn't facing Majo and she said, "Ah, Elder Majo-sama. How nice of you to come by and check upon my well being. I'd love to chat for a while but I'm afraid I have much to do. Perhaps we can visit later."_

 _"_ _Were you hit on the head Hinata?" asked Majo sarcastically. "I think I misheard you. It sounded like you just_ _ **dismissed**_ _me."_

 _The Fall Maiden tilted her head slightly in thought though she wasn't looking at Majo. "Well, they_ _ **do**_ _say that the hearing is the first thing to go after all….Or is it the_ _ **mind**_ _? Oh well, no matter."_

 _Majo slammed the door shut angrily behind her as she stormed into the room. "How_ _ **dare**_ _you little bitch! You will treat me with the respect I deserve!"_

 _Hinata moved in a blur behind the fuming Elder and locked the door behind her. The Fall Maiden said, "_ _ **Respect?!**_ _Very well, we'll have our little talk about_ _ **respect**_ _right_ _ **now**_ _." Her voice from behind Majo had chilling edge that made the old woman's hair stand on end. When Majo turned around she saw Hinata had strategically placed herself between the door and Majo thus cutting off the exit. The Heiress was standing in the shadow but Majo could make out there was a ghost of a smile on Hinata's beautiful face. Hinata's eyes lit up like flames and a pillar of fire ignited in her right hand._

 _Majo felt fear as the younger woman walked forward with a sway in her hips and her face lit up almost demonically in the light and shadows from the fire in her right hand. Hinata shot her left hand out and gripped the old woman by the throat. The Fall Maiden's face was inches from Majo's own and her right hand was close enough to the old woman's for the Elder to feel the searing heat. "I think this is something we can both understand Majo-_ _ **sama**_ _." said Hinata derisively. "This is called_ _ **POWER**_ _; as in I have the power to end your pathetic existence you walking archaeological dig._ _ **Power**_ _; as in you have absolutely_ _ **none**_ _in this situation…." Hinata's smile widened as Majo started to sweat and tremble. "You are going to use your influence on the Hyūga Council to expressly do_ _ **MY**_ _bidding from now on old woman…."_

 _…_ _.In the next ninety minutes the Fall Maiden explained_ _ **exactly**_ _how things were going to be from now on….Elder Majo nearly collapsed in fear…._

 _…_ _._

 _"…_ _.I'm so glad we had this little chat Elder Majo." said the Hyūga Heiress as showed the old woman to the door. "You just remember to do as you are told. You don't ask questions; you don't think, you_ _ **obey**_ _. If you don't cooperate fully just remember that you and your kin live_ _ **only**_ _by_ _ **my**_ _grace. Now go my little puppet…."_

 _Flashback end…._

Elder Majo was terrified. Hinata-sama had explained _in graphic detail_ exactly what would happen to her and her descendants if the old woman disobeyed in the slightest….The Fall Maiden made Majo prostate herself and swear **_absolute_** obedience upon pain of death of her great grandchildren. Majo hadn't felt so frightened in all her days….

 **Konoha Hospital**

Naruto showed up at the hospital around ten in the morning in his new ' _Built for Speed_ ' tee shirt (in black and orange of course) and went to the nurse's station. "What do you mean Hinata-chan has been released? I thought she was in a coma!"

One of the nicer nurses that didn't hate Naruto said, "This is a hospital Uzumaki-san. Please quiet down! Your friend Hinata-sama woke up yesterday and was cleared to go home by yesterday afternoon. She is fine. The kunoichi with her woke up too."

"Oh, I guess I'll visit her at home then. I'm really glad she's okay. Thanks Nurse-san!" Then the orange prankster took off like a bat out of hell to see Hinata….

The nurse shook her head as he vanished in an orange blur. "I swear that boy is just incorrigible at times."

 **Hyuga Compound**

The Fall Maiden was in a good mood. Last night she put Majo in her proper place and this morning she'd avoided Hiashi and got to spend some quality time with her little sister Hanabi-chan. ' _Now I can do my favorite pastime….stalking Naruto-kun!_ ' She face palmed. ' _I mean_ _ **going to see**_ _Naruto-kun of course. I'll talk to him and see if he's training for the Chunin Exam Finals. I'm sure I can help him learn a few juken moves to help him_ _ **crush**_ _Neji into paste_.' Putting on some short black biker shorts and her new dark red and gold trimmed battle dress; Hinata checked herself in the mirror before strapping on her weapons. ' _I can't wait to see Naruto-kun; I hope he likes my new ninja outfit!_ ' she mentally squealed. Deciding to buy some of that kunoichi shampoo that stimulated hair growth on the way home, the Fall Maiden set out to find the object of her affections and visit her teammates.

' _Perhaps I should visit Pyrrha Nikos today_.' thought Hinata as she walked out of the Hyūga Compound. ' _I could find out who she really is. She may be merged as I am. There really isn't any reason for us to be enemies now_. _She potentially would make a good ally or even a friend_.' The Fall Maiden failed to notice every warm blooded male in the Hyūga Compound was drooling over her in her new attire. She also failed to notice the many girlfriends and wives smacking around their significant others for opening gawking at Hinata's amazing curves….

 **Hyūga Compound twenty minutes later** ….

A certain orange wearing ninja stopped in to check on Hinata having found she was released from the hospital. Coming up to the guards he asked, "Have you seen Hinata-chan?"

 _"_ _Boy have we_ _ **ever!**_ _"_ said one guard with a blush and a giggle.

The other guard smacked his partner and turned back to Naruto. "Hinata-sama left a while ago. What business do you have with our Heiress Uzumaki-san?" he asked sternly.

"She is my friend and I found out she was released from the hospital. I wanted to check on her and make sure that she is fine." answered Naruto in a concerned tone of voice.

" _Oh she's_ _ **more**_ _than fine!_ " said the first guard still blushing. That earned him another smack upside his head.

The second guard said, "We'll let her know you stopped by Uzumaki-san."

Naruto smiled. "Okay; please tell her I'm at Training Ground 53 in preparation for the Chunin Exams if she has time. Thanks!" With that Naruto vanished in a flash of orange.

 **Hokage's Office**

Yamanaka Inoichi had just finished presenting his case for Pyrrha Nikos and the Third Hokage was sitting back and puffing on his pipe. "I have to say Inoichi; if it was anyone in your clan aside of yourself had presented such a report I would have recommended they get **their** head examined. Reincarnation; remembering previous lives? Has anyone in your clan stumbled across this sort of thing before?"

"I'm going to study up on that a bit Hokage-sama." said Inoichi. "There are at least three cases I remember of people having flashes of their previous lives but this young lady remembers the _entirety_ her previous existence in _excruciating_ detail -including her death. I'd like to do further studies but frankly she realizes the memories are of another life and she's worried we'll think she's insane."

"So she doesn't consider _herself_ insane?" asked the Third Hokage.

Inoichi shook his head. "Not in the slightest. She seems to believe that she has a second chance at living and wants to live her life. While she vividly remembers everything, Pyrrha-san also has the firm belief that her memories of her past life are just that, memories."

Sarutobi asked, "Were you able to get a grasp of her personality?"

The Yamanaka Clan head shrugged. "I'd be proud to call her my own daughter. She's smart, brave, loyal and honest to a fault. In her former life she was a huntress of some sort protecting her people from some kind of beasts. All in all she's a very noble young lady."

"Do you think she could cut it as a kunoichi here in Konoha?" asked Hiruzen.

"Given she may possess the magnet release bloodline it would be criminally negligent for her to _not_ be a kunoichi." said Inoichi emphatically.

The Third Hokage chuckled, "Planning on trading in your daughter for a new one?"

Inoichi laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it. But I believe Ino-chan could benefit from having Pyrrha as a friend. Pyrrha has her head on much straighter than Ino-chan I'm ashamed to say."

"Children can be a task." said Hiruzen sagely. "After lunch we'll go to see young Pyrrha-san and see if she would have any interest in becoming a Konoha kunoichi."

 **Yuuhi Kurenai's apartment**

The Fall Maiden had checked Naruto's apartment and was disappointed that he wasn't home. After scanning about with her byakugan and not finding the object of her affections in range or at Ichiraku's Ramen she decided to drop in on her sensei Yuuhi Kurenai. From what Kō had told Hinata; Kurenai and her teammates had both been at the hospital and it made her happy inside knowing they cared for her so much. Knocking on the door, the Fall Maiden heard her sensei call out she was coming and waited patiently. Kurenai opened the door and said "Hinata-chan; it's so good to…. _see you?!_ _Where_ did you get that battle dress?"

"Do you like it sensei?" asked Hinata shyly. "I think it shows off my figure better than my baggy coat."

' _Good lord! Hinata-chan has turned from a wallflower into some kind of femme fatale overnight!_ ' thought Kurenai with wide eyes. "Come on in Hinata-chan. _Do_ tell me where you got the idea for your new attire."

Hinata had an enjoyable talk with her sensei and poor Kurenai felt like her daughter figure had suddenly matured into woman from a little girl. Kurenai was dreading when Hiashi found out because Hinata revealed some of her inspiration was because of Kurenai's red and white battle dress that looked like bandages. "You did say sex appeal was one of a kunoichi's most powerful tools sensei. I admire you and your friend Anko-san. You are both strong and beautiful. I want to be that way too." said the Fall Maiden.

' _Oh boy.'_ thought Kurenai. _'Every boy her age is going to be after her like dogs in heat….Hiashi-sama is going to have a heart attack_ …. _On the other hand she carries it off beautifully. I never dreamed she'd be so daring in her style of dress. Once she grows her hair out like she described it might be too much for men to handle. I'll have to give her some guidance_.'

The Fall Maiden was very excited when she found out Naruto-kun had come to check on her in the hospital. She promised herself to stop in and visit Kiba and Shino when she had the time. At any rate Naruto-kun took precedence but since Kurenai invited her to lunch Hinata was able to enjoy a bit more bonding time with her sensei….

 **Remnant**

Blake Belladonna looked up at the frozen Grimm Dragon atop Beacon Tower. The faunus girl was distraught. Between her own injuries and the horror of her friend Yang losing an arm; the black haired huntress concluded that finding out about Cinder Fall's whereabouts was paramount. "Even frozen this dragon is terrifying." thought Blake aloud. "I can still feel the malice emanating from it. Where was Cinder when she vanished? I should talk to Ruby and find out more details. My instincts are _screaming_ at me that Cinder Fall is still alive somewhere." Probing around and carefully avoiding physical contact with the Grimm Dragon; Blake found a glowing spot on the floor. ' _Is this where Cinder was?_ ' Touching the light with her hand, Blake suddenly felt reality was being torn apart. A scream was torn from her soul before everything when completely black….

The cat eared huntress of Vale was gone only leaving dust behind in Remnant….

 **Fire Country, Hyūga Compound**

Hinata was talking to the two guards at the Hyūga Compound gates after she got back from her visit with Kurenai. "So Uzumaki Naruto-kun stopped by to check on me? When was this?"

"It was just after you left earlier Hinata-sama." said the blushing guard.

She smiled calculatively. "Hmmm….I don't suppose he said we he would be did he?" she asked.

"Ummm….I believe Haishi-sama wants to see you Hinata-sama." said the straight laced guard. "He indicated you weren't given permission to be out so soon after getting out of the hospital."

The Fall Maiden cupped his cheek and said softly, "Hiashi-sama has no idea I was ever here; I think you two can keep a secret for your mistress can't you?"

Both guards were melting now. "O-of course Hinata-sama!" said the responsible guard.

"Yes, your wish is our command my Lady!" said the blushing guard.

' _Fools; it's your_ _ **job**_ _to obey me_.' she thought darkly. "Why don't you tell me where I might find Naruto-kun? I have….important business with him."

"He told us that he would be at training ground 53 Hinata-sama." said the proper guard.

She smiled and said. "Very good, you two have served me well. Remember….not a word to Hiashi-sama." She turned around and left with a soft sway in her hips that had both guards staring….

 **Yamanaka Flower Shop**

Yamanaka Ino was bored. Check that, Ino was bored to tears. Inoichi showed up soon with an attractive red haired girl in tow. "Hello Ino-chan; how is my princess today?" asked Inoichi with a smile.

Ino replied, "I'm bored to death Daddy. There is no business today and most of my friends are out training."

"Good, good. This works out perfectly." said Ino's Father.

Ino gave Inoichi a completely flat look and narrowed her blue eyes. "It's good that I'm bored enough to hang myself?!"

Inoichi smiled and said, "Pyrrha, this is my daughter Yamanaka Ino. I hope you two can become friends." Turning to Ino he said, "Ino-chan, this is Pyrrha Nikos. She's an unaffiliated kunoichi that is about your age and wants to join Konoha. She's going to be staying with us in the spare bedroom per Hokage-sama for a little while. I have to talk to your Mother and let her know the full situation."

Ino's eyes had a look of shock as Inoichi dashed by to see her Mom. She turned to Pyrrha and saw the green eyed girl was smiling nervously. "It's nice to meet you Ino-san; I hope we get along well." said the redhead as she held out her hand.

"Ummm….yeah. I do too." said Ino shaking hands with Pyrrha. "So where do you come from originally?"

"That's part of the reason I'm staying with you." explained Pyrrha. "I was in the Chunin Exams and suffered an injury that caused almost total memory loss. I don't know where I'm from exactly and Hokage-sama and Inoichi-sama where gracious enough to allow me to stay in Konoha. After a probationary period I want to join the ninja forces as a genin."

"Your memories are totally gone and Daddy has confirmed it?" asked Ino. Seeing Pyrrha nod Ino said, "That's really terrible….I guess the best thing to do is move forward and make new friends and new memories…." Smiling brightly, Ino said, "Welcome to Konoha Pyrrha!"

 **Training Ground 53**

Naruto had several clones working on the Leaf Splitting exercise. The Toad Sannin was originally planning to teach Naruto how to access the Kyubi's chakra but after seeing the shocking level of wind affinity the orange loving ninja had; Jiraiya had started the blonde on water walking and elemental manipulation instead. The white haired man explained that his godson could use his shadow clones to train and speed up the process. When Naruto realized he received the memory of his shadow clones for training he felt like a complete idiot for not noticing before. Jiraiya set about training Naruto in taijutsu and planned to introduce him to both Toad summoning and the Rasengan….They were both Naruto's legacy after all….

As it was Naruto was getting his taijutsu forms completely overhauled by Jiraiya. Speed and upper body strength were Jiraiya's main focus. As it turned out Naruto's style was a completely unpredictable free form due to not having been taught properly at the Academy (thank you, Mizuki). Rather than trying to teach Naruto the proper Academy style from the ground up; Jiraiya decided to remain flexible and teach Naruto the proper way to perform punches and kick without wasting so much energy. Being a tactile learner Naruto decided to give it his all and really _learn_. The more moves Jiraiya taught him the more the boy incorporated into his bottomless bag of tricks.

On the positive side Naruto was learning by leaps and bounds having a dedicated sensei but on the downside Naruto was going to be training from dusk till dawn and had to…. ** _EAT HEALTHY!_** Choking down vegetables and lean meats with no ramen was living hell for the orange loving blonde. "Let's take a break Naruto!" called Jiraiya. "You have a visitor." said Jiraiya pointing towards some bushes at the edge of the clearing.

" ** _EEEEP!_** " said the Fall Maiden. ' _Damn it! I'm all flustered, I want to talk to Naruto-kun but I automatically hid from him_.' "H-Hi Naruto-kun; you look like you're training really hard." ' _That wasn't too bad but I still stuttered once_.'

Naruto got a big smile on his face and trotted over to see Hinata. "Hinata-chan; I'm so happy to see you are doing better. I checked at your home earlier today and they said you were out and about."

The Fall Maiden smiled and nodded. She felt herself blushing slightly and said, "Thank you for checking on me; it was very kind of you Naruto-kun." ' _I can do this! YES!_ ' That's when Hinata noticed Naruto's ' _Built for Speed_ ' tee shirt partially obscured under his open jacket. _'S(peed)'_ was covered up and her hormones got the better of her. "Your tee shirt says…." ' _Built for S(ex)?!'_ Hinata's nose exploded in a geyser of blood as her mind went from Rated G all the way to Triple X in 1.5 seconds. Naruto caught her frantically as she fainted dead away.

" _Ero-sennin!_ I think Hinata-chan needs to go back to the hospital! She's in a coma again…." lamented Naruto.

While Naruto was panicking Jiraiya easily put two and two together. ' _This little hottie has it bad for my godson. She's really well developed for her age. That kunoichi uniform is devastating_.' He giggled perversely. ' _I may as well help them out_.' "Naruto; stop panicking. She's just a little lightheaded. Bring her over here and lean against the tree." After getting Naruto and Hinata arranged Jiraiya said, "You just hold her in your lap there with your arms around her like that until she wakes up. She'll be just fine."

Naruto still looked worried and said, "Are you sure she doesn't need to go to the hospital?"

Jiraiya took a pontificating tone. " _Never_ question your Master in the ways of women Naruto. I am the first and foremost authority on babes. How old is she anyway?"

"I'm pretty sure Hinata-chan is my age. We were in the same class in the Academy." said Naruto puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." said Jiraiya as he stifled a nose bleed. ' _Naruto, you lucky boy. What a body she's got…and a face to match! Just wait a few years_.' Jiraiya promptly started taking 'research notes.'

Naruto was about to scold Jiraiya but Hinata started to stir. She opened her eyes and said dreamily, "I'm being held by Naruto-kun…." Then her eyes bugged out realizing she _WAS_ being held by Naruto-kun. Naruto's blue eyes widened as the Fall Maiden's eyes seemed to ignite for a second. Seeing he was so close to her; she roared in her mind, ' ** _SEIZE THE DAY!_** ' and she said, "N-Naruto-kun; I came to help you train against Neji. I know the juken style well so….so would you like me to help you learn how to counter it?"

Naruto looked surprised. "You want to help me Hinata-chan? That would be really great but I don't want you to strain yourself. You were hurt really bad."

The Fall Maiden smiled. ' _Naruto-kun is such a kind person_.' She said brightly, "I won't strain myself Naruto-kun. I just want to help you. Kurenai-sensei told me you made a blood oath against Neji to defeat him and it made me really happy."

' _The boy already is winning hearts of the maidens by being the hero!_ ' thought Jiraiya. ' _Your old man would be proud Naruto!_ ' "Well, I think that would be a fine idea Naruto. You're name is Hinata, Miss Hyūga?"

"Yes, I am Hyūga Hinata sir. I want to help Naruto-kun if I can." said the Fall Maiden.

' _Hiashi's eldest; the Heiress of the Hyūga Clan_.' thought the Toad Sage. "I'm Jiraiya of the sannin my dear. I think having a juken practitioner here would be a huge help. Just remember the secret techniques of your clan should remain secrets."

"You are Jiraiya-sama of the legendary sannin?" she asked. Seeing Jiraiya nod she said to Naruto, "This is wonderful Naruto-kun. You've found a great sensei!" ' _Even if he is a total pervert from what Kurenai-sensei said in the past_.'

"Are you still feeling light headed Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto.

The Fall Maiden shook her head, gathered her courage and gave the orange loving ninja a small hug. "I'm just fine now Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave her a big smile that made her blush slightly. "I'm so glad Hinata-chan. Let's train together!"

 **The Forest of Death**

A coffin with the kanji for " _First_ " burst to the surface of the forest floor; spilling blood and earth all over in the most unnatural of ways. A beautiful girl with cat ears exploded out of the coffin. Tsuchi Kin/Blake Belladonna looked around with wide, panicky amber eyes. She let out a feral sound as her hyperventilation slowed down. " ** _DAMN YOU OROCHIMARU!_** " she roared. Jumping up into the forest canopy she noticed her shredded Oto kunoichi uniform. "This is way too small in the chest and too big around the waist." she hissed. "That Kin girl had no curves at all." She gingerly touched to top of her head and found her sensitive cat ears were there rotating to pick up all the sounds in the forest. "Looks like I'm a faunus like Blake was…."

Soon finding a pool to see her reflection in, the cat eared girl washed the blood and mud off of her body. ' _However I formed inside that damned coffin was so violent that I'm covered in blood. The wounds are healed but it looks like I was flogged from the stains on my clothes. Kin and Blake tried to destroy each other's existence. Neither would let the other live….I guess I'm the result. I….I need to calm down. Kin went insane from sensory deprivation….how long was I down there in the darkness?_ ' After washing herself and her ripped up clothing thoroughly, she inspected her weapons. "Senbon….that's all Kin used. I need a kusarigama or at least a katana to defend myself. My body and appearance seen to take after Blake but I'm younger than she was like Kin. I'm so full of rage….Orochimaru has to pay. But how? That snake monster wouldn't know who I am….I don't either actually. What should I do?"

The new faunus girl thought to herself, ' _Maybe the Hokage could give me amnesty in exchange for information on the Sand/Sand Alliance. I have to get into Konoha Village and out of this Forest. What should I call myself?_ '

" ** _Tsuchi Blake_** ….it's not very original but it sort of fits." The _new_ Blake started down the path back to Konoha with thoughts of vengeance in her mind….

….

 ** _OMAKE:_**

Naruto was about to scold Jiraiya but Hinata started to stir. She opened her eyes and said dreamily, "I'm being held by Naruto-kun…." Then her eyes bugged out realizing she _WAS_ being held by Naruto. Naruto's blue eyes widened as the Fall Maiden's eyes seemed to ignite. Seeing his mouth so close to hers; she roared in her mind, ' ** _SEIZE THE DAY!_** ' as she gripped Naruto's face and planted a soul searing kiss on his lips….Naruto felt the heat rising as his blood began to rush through his veins and he gave into to her erotic ministrations. He felt Hinata's tongue invade his mouth and he forgot the world existed around him. His hazy mind was totally gone….After a long while the two broke for air panting with a ribbon of saliva strung between their lips….

The incredibly sultry look in her eyes drew Naruto in as she whispered seductively, " _The smell of your flesh excites me Naruto-kun_ …." Naruto was about to **_go for it all_** when he heard perverse giggling of a certain sannin….

Jiraiya clicked his stopwatch and said in approval, "Seventeen minutes and twenty three seconds. I'm so proud of you my apprentice. And she's such a babe too." Wiping a tear from his eye, Jiraiya said, "I take it you're both feeling better?"

Both young teens stared completely dumbfounded as Jiraiya recorded the moment for posterity….or at least to put in his latest novel. Both of them suddenly blushed hotly and looked like a pair of boiled lobsters. Everything was silent until Jiraiya finished scribbling down his notes. The Legendary Super Pervert then made a mistake and said giggling, "By all means carry on!"

…. ** _The hill on Training Ground 53 exploded. A perverted scream cried out and then all was silent_** ….

….

 **Konoha Hot Springs District, Amaguriama Sweets Shop**

The Fall Maiden and Naruto were sitting together bashfully as they ate ice cream together. "That was such a cool fire jutsu you used Hinata-chan. I didn't know you knew those."

"It was twice as effective because of that massive wind jutsu you used Naruto-kun." answered Hinata shyly. "Who was that old guy anyway?"

Naruto smiled, "He was just some random old coot that showed up yesterday….No one important…."

….

 **Training Ground 53**

The smoldering remains of Jiraiya bobbed to the surface of the small lake by the waterfall at the bottom of the hill. All the girls swimming there thought it was a meteor strike when he landed and then they really panicked when they thought it was a dead body floating in the water. Jiraiya weakly pulled himself over to the shore. He said as he coughed up some smoke, "That firestorm must have been an S-Class collaboration jutsu. I think I'm going to just lie down here and take a nap….and maybe die."

….

 ** _OMAKE END_** ….

POSTSCRIPT:

I don't know if anyone expected the inclusion of Blake Belladonna in the story but hopefully it was a surprise. To me, of all the characters in RWBY she is the most ninja like. At any rate, she is the only other RWBY character I intend to add into the mix. I deviated a bit from RWBY canon to include her by having her go after Cinder Fall instead of escaping but frankly the whole point of crossover fan fiction is to deviate from the norm in my humble opinion. Unlike Hinata/Cinder who compatibly fused and Pyrrha who more or less overtook her counterpart; Blake/Kin didn't mesh well at all so there will be some repercussions the others haven't had.

So, Pyrrha is living in the care of the Yamanakas; how will that work out? The Fall Maiden is getting closer to Naruto and is going to be involved in his training so their interactions should keep Jiraiya happy. Next chapter the bill for Hinata's clothing will land in Hiashi's lap and a Father/daughter talk from hell will take place. Considering how Kurenai reacted to Hinata showing that much leg; who knows how Hiashi will react. The Hyūga males on the whole seem to like it though. See you next time. Blue out. 5/17/16


	3. Chapter 3

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Thanks everyone for their many reviews, follows and favorites. Getting feedback is nice. This chapter is more geared towards character development than anything else. Originally I planned to race through Naruto's training and get to the Chunin Exams but taking the slower route should make the plot and the characters much more fleshed out and enjoyable (I hope). Just as a side note all the characters are 13-14 at this point. Here is chapter 3. Enjoy!

Last time:

 ** _The Forest of Death_**

 _A coffin with the kanji for "_ _First_ _" burst to the surface of the forest floor; spilling blood and earth all over in the most unnatural of ways. A beautiful girl with cat ears exploded out of the coffin. Tsuchi Kin/Blake Belladonna looked around with wide, panicky amber eyes. She let out a feral sound as her hyperventilation slowed down. "_ _ **DAMN YOU OROCHIMARU!**_ _" she roared. Jumping up into the forest canopy she noticed her shredded Oto kunoichi uniform. "This is way too small in the chest and too big around the waist." she hissed. "That Kin girl had no curves at all." She gingerly touched to top of her head and found her sensitive cat ears were there rotating to pick up all the sounds in the forest. "Looks like I'm a faunus like Blake was…."_

 _Soon finding a pool to see her reflection in, the cat eared girl washed the blood and mud off of her body. '_ _However I formed inside that damned coffin was so violent that I'm covered in blood. The wounds are healed but it looks like I was flogged from the stains on my clothes. Kin and Blake tried to destroy each other's existence. Neither would let the other live….I guess I'm the result. I….I need to calm down. Kin went insane from sensory deprivation….how long was I down there in the darkness?_ _' After washing herself and her ripped up clothing thoroughly, she inspected her weapons. "Senbon….that's all Kin used. I need a kusarigama or at least a katana to defend myself. My body and appearance seen to take after Blake but I'm younger than she was like Kin. I'm so full of rage….Orochimaru has to pay. But how? That snake monster wouldn't know who I am….I don't either actually. What should I do?"_

 _The new faunus girl thought to herself, '_ _Maybe the Hokage could give me amnesty in exchange for information on the Sand/Sand Alliance. I have to get into Konoha Village and out of this Forest. What should I call myself?_ _'_

 _"_ _ **Tsuchi Blake**_ _….it's not very original but it sort of fits." The new Blake started down the path back to Konoha with thoughts of vengeance in her mind…._

Chapter 3

 **Konoha, the Yamanaka Home**

Pyrrha woke at the crack of dawn to start her morning workout and Inoichi was the only one up in the household. He was nursing his second cup of coffee. "Good morning Inoichi-san." said Pyrrha. "Are you the only one awake sir? I'm surprised Ino-san isn't up. The dawn hours are the best time for a workout."

Inoichi chuckled. "Pyrrha-chan, you don't have to be so formal. And just for your information, Ino-chan won't be up for hours. Even then she probably won't be too eager for a workout. She's gotten a bit lazy since she's no longer in the Chunin Exams." The look of horror on Pyrrha's face made Inoichi laugh. "I'll spar with you Pyrrha-chan. Let me finish my coffee here. We can spar out back behind the greenhouse."

….

Ino woke up to the noise of someone carrying on in the backyard and the blonde girl was _not happy_. "What the hell…? Who is making all that noise when I need my beauty sleep?" Blinking her blue eyes Ino peered out the window and saw her Father and Pyrrha going hard at it. Ino's eyes widened as Pyrrha launched a truly brutal taijutsu assault against Inoichi. Inoichi caught Pyrrha's foot and sent the girl spinning but she flipped back to her feet and renewed her attack.

Inoichi held up his hand for Pyrrha to stop and Ino watched as he showed Pyrrha how to adjust her kicks for more impact. Ino was straining to hear what her Father was saying but he was talking in low tones. Inoichi pointed Pyrrha towards a training post which she promptly kicked hard enough for the wood to make a straining noise. After a few more kicks under Inoichi's instruction Pyrrha incorporated a spinning move into the kick that made a clap like thunder. Ino's eyes bugged out and her thoughts were interrupted by Inoichi sending her a telepathic message. ' _Get dressed and come down Princess. If you're awake enough to eavesdrop then you're awake enough to practice_.'

Hearing his tone was an order the blonde genin kunoichi lowered her head and waved back in affirmation. "I hope I live through this…." Ino said to herself wearily.

 **Konoha, Training Ground 44**

Early in the morning, a cat eared kunoichi escaped the confines of the Forest of Death only to run headlong into the presence of a very irritable Mitarashi Anko. Anko was still angry about losing so badly to Orochimaru. "Halt!" said the Snake mistress. Seeing the Oto headband on the girl Anko wasn't about to let this one go. Blake had other ideas and took off like a bat out of hell. "Come back here you brat!" hollered Anko.

' _I've got to see the Hokage!_ ' thought Blake as she hit the ground running. With the knowledge of her two sets of memories Blake kept making minor genjutsus and clones that she seamlessly body switched with. It would have worked against most but Anko was tracking the cat girl by her scent and was unshakeable. Nevertheless Anko was impressed that this genin(?) was still loose after a twenty minute chase. Anko trip tackled the younger woman and to two tumbled end over end. Anko was about to knock out Blake when the amber eyed girl bit her and retaliated by using senbon needles like claws. "You're not getting me woman! I have to see the Hokage!" snarled Blake as she shoved Anko off of her with her foot.

"I'll bet you do…." growled Anko as she summoned a thirty foot long snake to capture Blake.

"Arrrgh! I **_HATE_** snakes!" yelled Blake out of sorts. "Fine! If you serve Orochimaru I'll kill you too!"

Blake's declaration took Anko off guard as she pinned the cat eared girl. Anko soon had Blake tied up though she'd been bitten and scratched several times in the process. "What do you mean **_I_** serve Orochimaru? I'm a loyal Leaf kunoichi!" said Anko angrily.

"Yeah, Yakushi Kabuto would say the same thing and he's an _Oto spy_ for the snake." hissed Blake.

Anko's eyes widened. She whispered, "If you're telling the truth then I need get you good and hidden!" They vanished in a body flicker….

 **Hyūga Compound**

Hinata woke up early, did her morning rituals and put on her traditional Hyūga sparring uniform. ' _I suspect Father will find out about my new clothing today as well as the fact I stayed out late watching Naruto-kun train. No doubt he'll decide to impose his will on me. Too bad I have no intention of acquiescing to his wishes_.'

She walked into the Main Branch Sparring Dojo and was met with complete silence. Her Father was their training Hanabi and he turned to Hinata. "Where have you been daughter? You did not attend any of the meals with your sister and I yesterday."

Elder Hiraku was the chief instructor of the dojo. He said coldly, "Hiashi-sama gave up on your training Hinata. On top of that you were crushed by Neji of the branch house. You do not belong here."

Hinata quietly walked up to Elder Hiraku and slammed him with a Flame Juken strike right in his chakra core below his solar plexus. The Elder flew several feet into the wall behind him before he slid down the wall with a smoking hand print over his heart. Everyone in the room stared in shock at Hinata. "Hmmm, perhaps you should _make me leave_ Elder Hiraku." said Hinata coldly. Hiraku was in a world of pain when Hinata blurred in front of the old man and wrenched him up to her burning eye level. " ** _On your feet or on your knees Hiraku!_** " Hiraku was too out of it to retaliate when Hinata dropped him to the floor lifelessly.

"How dare you!" screeched Hiraku's grandson Hiroki. He opened up with an eight trigrams: sixteen palms strike that Hinata effortlessly deflected with her flame chakra covered hands. Hiroki sprang back from the searing heat. "What are you-"

" _Eight trigrams: Thirty-two_ _ **flame**_ _palms!_ " roared Hinata as she leveled Hiroki with a ruthless efficiency that none imagined Hinata could possibly possess.

"Nee-chan…." whispered Hanabi in awe of her sister. Hiroki was lying there unconscious and smoking.

Hinata sighed in disappointment. "Perhaps my new **_Flame Juken_** is too much for the clan to handle. I will go train elsewhere…. ** _alone_**."

….

 **The Yamanaka Home**

"Wow Ino; you should eat more. Your Mom's cooking is great!" said Pyrrha as she went for a third helping of breakfast. "It's good to eat after a heavy workout."

Ino was staring at the food with her mouth watering. "….Can't….eat….must….diet…." muttered the blonde incoherently.

Yamanaka Ayano said, "Ino-chan, if you don't eat you're going to die. You and Pyrrha-chan are growing girls _plus_ you are kunoichis. _Now eat!_ "

After shoveling in all she could hold Ino admitted secretly admitted to herself that she needed it. "I'll just have to eat lighter the rest of the week." the blonde thought aloud. After reading a fashion magazine for a while Ino was a bit bored and decided to check on Pyrrha. ' _Maybe I can introduce her to Forehead or something. Since it's not my shift to work at the Flower Shop maybe we can talk about Sasuke-kun or go shopping_.' Coming down to the Flower shop she saw Pyrrha zipping about moving flower pots for her Mother Ayano. The Yamanaka Matriarch looked a bit baffled. "Ummm….What's going on Mom?" asked Ino as she watched Pyyrha speed along.

Ayano said in a detached tone, "Pyrrha-chan insisted on helping out because she's staying with us and….Well, I told her she didn't have to but we needed to move the new flowers over to the opposite side as the week progressed….Pyrrha just took off running and hasn't stopped since. Take her somewhere to relax Ino-chan. I've heard of having a work ethic but this is ridiculous!"

Ino finally caught Pyrrha on the third time racing by. "Pyrrha, we've got all week to do those! Let's go do something!"

Pyrrha looked thoughtful and said, "Well, I guess I could work on my kunai throwing. It's not at the level I'd like."

Ino looked at her Mother for help and Ayano said, "Pyrrha-chan, go with Ino-chan and have some fun! You are a teenage girl after all. Ino-chan _excels_ at goofing off…. _Oops! That came out wrong_. Anyway, the two of you go out and socialize a bit."

Ino sat there staring at her Mother in disbelief and Pyrrha somehow managed to keep a straight face. "I'll go wash up a bit to go out." said Pyrrha as she excused herself….

 **ANBU Headquarters**

Blake was in an interrogation chamber strapped tightly to a chair. She was willingly answering the questions of a very puzzled Morino Ibiki. ' _Is she crazy or is she telling the truth?_ ' thought the chief interrogator. ' _This information could be vital but she may be nuts_ ….' He said to Blake, "Alright girl. You claim there is a joint Suna/Oto invasion coming when the Chunin Exam Finals occur. You've already told us about some crazy jutsu that can revive the dead called the Edo Tensei that requires a human sacrifice….but you topped it all by saying you were two people before this….metamorphosis or whatever. Why should I believe you? What you're telling me sounds positively insane."

The Cat eared girl had calmed down by this point. "Capture Yakushi Kabuto and question him. He's Orochimaru's right hand man. I already explained you can find the remains of that coffin in the Forest. I don't know anything about the Edo Tensei other than what Orochimaru told Kin."

An ANBU opened the door to the chamber and Anko walked in along with the Third Hokage. "The Edo Tensei was a kinjutsu created by my sensei Senju Tobirama; otherwise known as the Second Hokage. I've been listening and this young lady's description of the jutsu is essentially correct. Put out a capture order for genin Yakushi Kabuto. His actions at the Chunin Exam Preliminaries were puzzling to say the least."

"What shall we do with the prisoner then Hokage-sama?" asked Ibiki.

Hiruzen came up and stared deeply into Blake's amber eyes. He said, "I want you to tell me the absolute truth child." Blake nodded fearfully at the powerful old man in front of her. "You said you had the memories of two people according to my reports. What were their names?"

"They were Blake Belladonna and Tsuchi Kin sir." said the dark haired girl.

Hiruzen pondered for a moment and said, "Tsuchi Kin was in the Chunin Exam Preliminaries and then vanished. Where did Blake Belladonna come from?"

Blake said quietly, "Blake Belladonna died in a place called Remnant."

The Third Hokage nodded. "Do you know a young Lady named Pyrrha Nikos?"

The faunus girl's eyes got huge. "How do you know about _Pyrrha?!_ She died in battle! I-"

"Can you describe Pyrrha to me?" asked Hiruzen cutting her off.

Blake nodded. "Pyrrha is my friend. She's very honorable. Pyrrha's a tall redhead that has green eyes. She has power over magnetism."

Hiruzen took a step back. "Untie her Ibiki. Blake-san is telling the truth. As hard as it may be to believe this young lady is quite sane." Blake released a breath she didn't realized she was holding. The elderly Hokage asked, "Do you _physically_ resemble Tsuchi Kin in any way child?"

"Ummm….no sir; not really. I only am her age physically. I mainly look like a 14 year old Blake Belladonna." said the cat eared girl.

"Then use that name." said Hiruzen. "Any connection with the late Oto kunoichi Tsuchi Kin could put you in danger with Orochimaru. It's best to play it safe." He turned to Anko. "Anko, if you don't mind get this young lady cleaned up and in some **_non_** -Oto kunoichi gear and weaponry to defend herself. Consider her a probationary genin kunoichi. After that get her something to eat and bring her to the Hokage Tower to see me in three hours." Anko nodded and saluted. The Hokage turned back to Blake. "Just for your information Special Jonin Mitarashi Anko is a loyal Konoha kunoichi that hates Orochimaru more than anyone. We'll discuss things in a more relaxed atmosphere after while in my office."

"Yes sir; thank you Hokage-sama." said Blake.

Hiruzen nodded and said kindly, "Believe it or not this will all work out child."

 **Hyūga Compound, Hiashi's Office**

Hinata was sitting there in front of her Father not looking perturbed in the least. Hiashi was beside himself. "When did you create this **_Flame Juken_** Hinata? You've developed an _entirely new form_ without even telling me? Why did you hide this from me? **_Why?_** "

The Heiress said coldly, "I'm tired of being used as a doormat. You and this clan have refused to acknowledge me and cast me aside. This business with Neji was the final straw. Anyone who crosses me will **_burn_**. The Elders in particular will feel my wrath. I have had it. Every bit of disrespect towards me will be **_re_ _paid in full_**."

Hiashi's byakugan eyes widened in shock. "Hinata, I-"

Hinata's eyes ignited. "You never even came to see me while I was in a **_coma_** Hiashi-sama. Do not think for an instant that I won't hold that against you." her voice was as cold as death. The Heiress stood up. "I am going to go _outside_ the Compound where I actually have friends and comrades who care about me and practice my _Flame Juken_ with them."

"Now Hinata-" started Hiashi.

Hinata retorted, "I will be back later. The clan better give me _wide berth_ or they'll learn the same lesson that Hiroki did." As Hinata swept out Hiashi was left with the taste of bitterness in his mouth.

" _What have I done…?_ " whispered Hiashi in a distraught tone.

Within the hour Hinata left the compound with her new battle dress on and didn't look back….

 **Konoha, Residential District**

Ino led Pyrrha along and said "Haruno Sakura has been my friend going way back. She's a kunoichi too. If she's home maybe the three of us can hang out." Knocking on the Haruno home's front door, Ino and Pyrrha waited expectantly until Haruno Mebuki opened the door. "Hi Mrs. Haruno; is Sakura-chan home?"

Mebuki nodded. "She is Ino-chan. Who is your friend?"

Ino answered, "Haruno Mebuki, this is my new friend Pyrrha Nikos. She's new to Konoha and is staying with us at my house." Turning to the redhead, Ino said, "Pyrrha-chan, this is Haruno Mebuki. She's Sakura's Mom and she used to watch me sometimes when I was little."

Pyrrha bowed respectfully and said formally, "It is a pleasure to meet your Haruno-san. I hope we can get along."

Mebuki smiled. ' _Such good manners_.' "Why don't you two ladies step inside? I'll fetch Sakura."

Soon Sakura came down and she was also introduced to Pyrrha. "So you are a new genin transferring here to Konoha. Well, if you need any help just ask Pyrrha." said Sakura. "What do you two want to do this afternoon? I finished my chores around the house so I'm free."

….

 **Konoha Shopping District**

"So those ears are real." said Anko. "Interesting. Having more or less omni directional hearing could give you a huge advantage. I guess the bow in your hair is a good way to maintain a low profile though." ' _I wonder what other cat like abilities she has….She went bonkers at that seafood place; I guess she has a thing for tuna_.'

Blake found that the Snake Mistress Mitarashi Anko was actually kind of fun to be around once they established that they both hated Orochimaru with a passion. "Hmmm….I'm surprised the kind of clothes I like are here." she said as she looked over black and white clothing. "They even have my colors. Everything in Oto is gray or snake patterned."

"Well, you're lucky we had a kusarigama down in the armory. The katana was easy but chain sickles aren't that common." said Anko. "The Hokage is really making an exception for you getting you all this equipment."

The faunus girl nodded. "I have to make sure his faith in me is justified. With all the discrimination and hatred I've dealt with in my life this is very surprising to me."

Anko nodded, "I do understand. I've been hated by association because of Orochimaru. He was my sensei before he betrayed Konoha and branded me with a curse mark."

"Can you control it?" asked Blake. "The Uchiha went crazy with it in the Forest with Kin's Team." Seeing Anko's expression Blake said, "I apologize; that was too personal a question."

The snake mistress shrugged. "It's alright. To tell the truth I've never activated it. Unlike the Uchiha I have the willpower to resist its vile taint. I'd do almost anything to get rid of it. The Uchiha though….I can tell he craves that power. I don't trust him."

"From my experience that's wise." said Blake. "The only reason he stopped was that pink haired fan girl of his." she said derisively. ' _I guess I shouldn't be so harsh, Kin hated fan girls. I shouldn't be so prejudiced_.' "Well anyway, kunoichi's should take their jobs seriously."

….

The two kunoichi's didn't realize that the Third Hokage was observing them by using the Telescoping technique through his crystal ball. Hiruzen smiled softly. "It seems that my hunch on this girl was correct….I think you may do better than you think Blake Belladonna."

….

 **Training Ground 53**

As Hinata went out to Training Ground 53 she was pondering things to herself. ' _Well, I've succeeded in setting a precedent with the clan so that goal is accomplished. Hiashi-sama is also off balance. However, I inadvertently frightened Hanabi-chan. I need to make that up to her quickly. Perhaps tomorrow I can take her out for ice cream or something. I don't want her to be afraid of me for any reason_.' Her spirits were soon lifted when she found Naruto training hard with Jiraiya.

To be precise she saw Naruto skip like a stone across the ground before he skidded to a halt in front of her rolled over on his back. He gave her a toothy smile. "Hi Hinata-chan! I'm glad you could make it!"

Hinata giggled at his ridiculous pose. "Are you alright Naruto-kun?"

Naruto kipped upwards onto his feet. "Never better Hinata-chan! Come on over. Ero-sennin thought you should have some say on how we trained together. I think he's got some good ideas but you know juken forwards and backwards so I'm sure you'll have some input." He grabbed Hinata's hand and she was blushing lightly as he led her over to Jiraiya.

Hinata noticed that two dozen clones were still working on the leaf cutting exercise and another group was working with….water balloons? The last group was water walking. ' _I'm surrounded by Naruto-kuns!_ ' she thought with a full blown blush.

….

"We'll start off with no chakra in my juken strikes and you'll get used to the speed involved." said Hinata. "I know Neji is faster than I am. I'm not sure but I believe he can use the sixty four palms."

Initially Naruto was dazzled at the speed of the seemingly harmless taps that Hinata was hitting him with. Once she closed a chakra point Naruto got _very_ serious about avoiding those 'harmless taps' that Hinata was capable of….

….

 **Konoha Hot Springs District**

After much debate between Ino and Sakura they went to the sweets shop in the Hot Springs District. Pyyrha was having ice cream as she listened to the blonde and the rosette argue about 'Sasuke-kun.' and who he likes best. "He's a prodigy and was always the best at everything!" gushed Ino.

"Sasuke-kun is being specially trained by Kakashi-sensei for the Chunin exams." said Sakura. "He's sure to win."

"You mean you have two teammates in the Chunin Exams and your sensei is only training one of them?" asked Pyrrha. "That doesn't seem very fair to me."

"I'm sure Kakashi-sensei knows a lost cause when he sees one." said Ino. "Naruto is facing Hyūga Neji. Neji is probably the only one that could pose a threat to Sasuke-kun."

Sakura nodded "The only other one that really is a monster is Gaara of Suna but Sasuke-kun will take him out in the first round."

Pyrrha said, "So basically you two have completely dismissed the possibility that this Naruto could win?"

Ino shook her head. "Naruto is the dead last. He doesn't stand a chance in hell. It was a fluke he made it this far. I figure Kiba was having an off day to have lost."

"Well, I'll give Naruto credit for trying but even if he by some miracle beat Neji then he'd still lose to Sasuke-kun. That's a given." said Sakura with a bit of sympathy in her voice.

' _Maybe I'll keep an eye out for this Naruto_.' thought Pyrrha. ' _He sounds a lot like Jaune_.'

 **Hokage Tower**

Blake was fully outfitted with gear when she and Anko arrived at the Hokage Tower. ' _This outfit is pretty close to what the original Blake Belladonna wore in Remnant….It's all so confusing figuring out who I am. When Kin and Blake merged Blake's personality prevailed but I have biases and hatred inherited from Kin….Not to mention her temper. I want to get things in order but I don't know where to start_ ….' "I need to thank Hokage-sama for helping me so much…." Blake said absentmindedly.

"Hokage-sama is a good judge of character Blake." said Anko. "He gave me a chance when no one else would. I owe him a lot."

Coming up to the Hokage's secretary Anko said, "Jonin Mitarashi Anko and Blake Belladonna reporting to Hokage-sama as ordered."

The secretary buzzed the Hokage and he soon bade the two women to enter his office. "Good afternoon ladies." said Hiruzen. "I trust there was no trouble between you two?"

Blake bowed, "Anko and I got along just fine Hokage-sama; thank you for asking."

"Things went well Hokage-sama." said Anko in a pleased tone.

"Good, good." said Hiruzen. "Please be seated. We have much to discuss about Oto."

….

 **Training Ground 53**

Naruto was working on a way to 'shield' his body with his chakra to keep his tenketsu points from being (painfully) closed. He found that he could coat specific parts of his body but he had to really focus on it and the chakra dispersed after a single juken strike. He and Hinata stopped and sat down for an early dinner. "You're doing very well Naruto-kun. Even deflecting one juken strike that is an accomplishment." said Hinata.

Jiraiya patted his apprentice's shoulder and said, "One of our goals is to have you doing that instinctively by the end of the month. After we eat we're going to call it a day." He raised his hand to forestall any arguments. "Hinata, these exercises benefit you too because they will build up your speed, stamina and chakra reserves but let's face it; you are _tired_. As for you Naruto, you're starting to get fatigued mentally and need to sleep. I know you can keep going but your body needs to rest."

….

 **Hyūga Compound**

The gate guards were shocked to see Jiraiya of the Sannin dropping of their heiress. "Get a good breakfast and spend the morning warming up. Around noon we'll start again. You are doing very well Hinata. Get a good night's sleep."

Hinata bowed. "Yes Jiraiya-sama, I'll see you at noon tomorrow." She yawned tiredly and said, "Goodnight Jiraiya-sama." Jiraiya wished her a good night and vanished in a body flicker.

Entering the compound Hinata looked about and found that business was as usual with the Branch Family but the Main House was in an uproar due to her actions this morning. The heiress walked into the main house and slipped off her sandals. Her mind was going through possible scenarios that could occur but everyone seemed to be on their best behavior. ' _It was sloppy of me to wear myself out training but Naruto-kun needs my help; not to mention I really do need to train. I had no idea what amazing stamina Naruto-kun has_.' She blushed and stifled a giggle. ' _I can only imagine what that stamina will translate into in bed_.'

Hinata took a long soak in the bath and started using her new shampoo to make her hair grow quickly. After thoroughly cleaning up she went to bed early and soon was dreaming about her Naruto-kun….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha was honestly a bit miffed at Ino and Sakura for talking so badly about their teammate/classmate Naruto. The redhead didn't want to make waves though so she kept her opinions to herself. ' _I don't know anything about this Uzumaki Naruto but it sounds like he works really hard and the give him no credit at all. I didn't say anything but he made it further in the Exams than Ino or Sakura did so they have no right to judge him. They seem to hold this Uchiha Sasuke on a pedestal. I guess he's the village prince or something_.'

"A ryo for your thoughts Pyrrha-chan?" asked Inoichi. "You seem to be doing some pretty deep thinking there."

The redhead blinked. "I'm sorry Inoichi; I was just wondering about the Chunin Exams and who might win. Sakura told me that Uchiha Sasuke would win hands down and that her other teammate Uzumaki Naruto didn't stand a chance. It seems kind of unfair to me. I don't know either one of them so I'm in no position to judge but still…."

Inoichi smiled. "The Uchiha has always been pampered and treated like royalty. Uzumaki Naruto is unfairly the Village pariah. Naruto is the underdog here and I hope he succeeds. The kid deserves a break."

Pyrrha smiled softly and nodded. "I'll have to meet Uzumaki-san then."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate having another friend Pyrrha-chan." said Inoichi in approval. "Sounds like dinner is ready. Let's head down."

 **The Hokage's Office**

"When the ANBU confronted Yakushi Kabuto he escaped them showing at least a jonin's level of skill. We're searching for his sensei and teammates but unsurprisingly they seem to have vanished." said the Third Hokage. "In spite of the fact they seem to have escaped our grasp we've nullified their spying activities. Orochimaru's plans might have a hiccup or two now that we have some idea of his plans."

Blake nodded. "I hope that Orochimaru is killed in this action. He is a vile monster."

Hiruzen smiled and lit up his pipe. "Let's discuss your living arrangements Blake. As you are a probationary genin you'll need to be under supervision of a ninja or ninja clan. Your friend Pyrrha is residing with the Yamanaka Clan. Anko, what would you think of being roommates with young Blake here? The two of you make a good team."

"I….I hadn't ever thought of such a thing Hokage-sama." confessed Anko. "No one ever wanted to live with me."

"You both have similar backgrounds I believe." said Sarutobi congenially. "Both of you are familiar with the pain of prejudice and being judged for _what_ you are instead of _who_ you are."

Blake smiled softly. "I'm willing to try it if Anko-san is. We seem to get along well."

Hiruzen looked at Anko who said, "Alright; I'm game. We'll have to clean the place up though."

"I'll set up a stipend temporarily for Blake to cover her expenses." said the elderly Hokage. "Once you are involved in missions you'll be earning your pay Blake. Anko, make sure you help Blake with her training. Unfortunately a major conflict is going to come up sooner rather than later."

….

 **Hyuga Compound**

Hinata awoke late that evening to the sound of quiet knocking on her door. Activating her byakugan tiredly Hinata saw it was her little sister Hanabi. Hinata got up and answered the door. "Are you okay nee-chan?" asked Hanabi in a worried tone. "I couldn't sleep. I've been worried about you."

Hinata smiled and hugged Hanabi warmly. "I'm fine Hanabi-chan. Would you like to sleep with your nee-chan tonight?"

Hanabi smiled and hugged Hinata. "Let me get my panda Genma." Soon the younger sister was snuggled up between her stuffed panda and Hinata. They talked quietly for a little while before Hanabi quietly went to sleep.

' _I'm glad Hanabi-chan is okay_.' thought Hinata. ' _I was worried the Elders might try to get her to avoid me but that doesn't seem to be the case. Still; I'll be watching them carefully_.'

….

In the Hyūga Council Chambers a tense meeting was going on about their heiress. Elder Hiraku was less than happy about the hand shaped burn on his chest that was causing him pain and even more unhappy about his grandson Hiroki being laid up in the hospital. What was even more shocking was Elder Majo seemed to actually be _supporting_ Hinata's actions. Majo said, "Obviously our Heiress has been holding back out of kindness and finally the dam broke. There is little doubt in my mind she could have trounced Neji in the Chunin Exams had she not held back. She took you out **_in one hit_** Hiraku. I'd wager she could have **_killed_** you with that strike if she actually used that fire chakra to its full extent. She was just making an example of you and your grandson. I had no idea she had such potential."

"You _of all people_ to support Hinata-sama; Elder Majo. I find this hard to believe." said Elder Minako. "You've always been one of her primary detractors."

"I'm forced to agree." said Hiashi. "Why the change of heart Elder Majo?"

"It occurred to me that our Heiress is finally showing the strength we wanted to see from her all along." said Elder Majo ' _That and she will murder my family before my eyes and leave me blind if I don't obey. I won't_ _ **dare**_ _to cross her._ ' "Besides Hiraku, you and your Grandson went out of your way to belittle her in spars for years before she was excluded from the Main House Dojo."

Elder Minako said, "We must make amends with our Heiress. The Main Family has ostracized her for years and she developed an entirely new and lethal form of juken without any of us being the wiser. She is every inch the prodigy one would expect of her bloodline."

Hiashi's Father said, "It shames me to know we treated her so badly. We have to make it up to my granddaughter."

"It won't be so easy." said Hiashi. "Hinata indicated that she had a number of grievances that she intended to pay the Elder Council back for. Do not think that a few honey laced words are going to calm her anger. She is out for _blood_."

"What of this training with Jiraiya-sama?" asked Elder Minako. "This was unknown to any of us."

"No doubt it has been going on since Jiraiya-sama returned a couple of weeks ago." said Elder Majo. "We should encourage this. If we try to curb her training she will only grow more hostile towards us."

"It seems we've made a real mess of things." said Hinata's Grandfather. "Her control over fire is nothing less than phenomenal."

The Council would talk long into the night about making reparations with Hinata….

….

 **Anko's apartment**

"Well, I guess this is a welcome home Blake." said Anko as she opened the door to her to the apartment. "Remind me to get you a key of your own tomorrow."

Blake peered in and saw that Anko's apartment was neat and clean but the walls were decorated with every kind of weapon known to man. "You sure have a lot of weapons gathered here." said the cat eared girl.

"Well, you never know when you'll have to kill someone." agreed Anko. "Your room is going to need to be emptied out since I use it for storage. If you don't mind we'll start in the morning on that. Just use the couch tonight. Let's see what I've got around to eat."

Blake's eyes zoomed in on a small shelf of books. "Oh, is this your library Anko?"

Anko nodded. "Pretty much. You like reading Blake?"

"It's sort of my hobby." admitted the faunus girl.

"Well feel free to read; maybe we can hit the bookstore tomorrow." said Anko as she headed towards the kitchen.

That was when Blake's amber eyes focused on a couple of particular books with orange covers. "Icha-Icha Paradise….what's this?"

 _Oh dear….It seems Jiraiya just got a new fan…._

….

POSTSCRIPT:

More than one person suggested I simply refer to Hinata/Cinder just as Hyūga Hinata and retain Blake Belladonna's full name. After thinking about it for awhile I agree that it makes matters simpler so thanks to all that provided input on that. I still haven't decided on whether or not I should write Pyrrha and Blake's surname first in the Japanese style or to leave them western. We pretty much got the girls a little more settled into their places this chapter. Pyrrha is the daughter Inoichi always wanted and Blake is going to be roommates with Anko. In the meantime, Hinata has her hands full in training with Naruto and changing the balance of power with the Hyūga Clan. Next chapter characters will start meeting each other and Jiraiya will meet his newest fan. See you next time. Blue out. 5/21/16


	4. Chapter 4

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

This chapter took a lot of fine tuning. Once again things are more character than plot oriented this time. We'll mainly be focusing on the girls this chapter though we will see some of Naruto's progress as well. Here is chapter 4. Enjoy!

Last time:

 ** _Anko's apartment_**

 _"_ _Well, I guess this is a welcome home Blake." said Anko as she opened the door to her to the apartment. "Remind me to get you a key of your own tomorrow."_

 _Blake peered in and saw that Anko's apartment was neat and clean but the walls were decorated with every kind of weapon known to man. "You sure have a lot of weapons gathered here." said the cat eared girl._

 _"_ _Well, you never know when you'll have to kill someone." agreed Anko. "Your room is going to need to be emptied out since I use it for storage. If you don't mind we'll start in the morning on that. Just use the couch tonight. Let's see what I've got around to eat."_

 _Blake's eyes zoomed in on a small shelf of books. "Oh, is this your library Anko?"_

 _Anko nodded. "Pretty much. You like reading Blake?"_

 _"_ _It's sort of my hobby." admitted the faunus girl._

 _"_ _Well feel free to read; maybe we can hit the bookstore tomorrow." said Anko as she headed towards the kitchen._

 _That was when Blake's amber eyes focused on a couple of particular books with orange covers. "Icha-Icha Paradise….what's this?"_

 _Oh dear….It seems Jiraiya just got a new fan…. _

Chapter 4

 **Konoha, Naruto's apartment**

It was early morning and under ordinary circumstances Uzumaki Naruto would have griped and complained to high heaven at having to get up before the sun rose. However, having a dedicated sensei in Jiraiya that actually _paid attention_ and _cared_ about his progress; Naruto was burning with the desire to succeed. He came out of his apartment after a big breakfast. The lowlifes in the area gave Naruto wide berth as he walked along. It was as if his _Will of Fire_ was a palpable thing and everyone in the Red Light district he lived in could feel the heat from it. Taking off in a jog Naruto spent the next hour running laps around Konoha before going to Training Ground 53 to meet up with Jiraiya….

 **Training Ground 53**

"You're right on time Naruto." said Jiraiya. "How many laps around Konoha did you get in this morning?"

Naruto held up one hand with his fingers spread. "Five laps Jiraiya-sensei. That's one more than yesterday."

Jiraiya nodded in approval. "Good; stay with five laps the next four days and then go for six laps. Today our focus is going to be taijutsu." Jiraiya summoned a large orange and blue toad. Naruto was familiar with this toad because he was the keeper of the Toad Scroll which Naruto had signed.

"Hi Gama!" said Naruto happily. "I guess you're going to be helping me train in taijutsu this morning. Let me summon another toad to help." Naruto focused hard on his chakra and roared, " ** _Summoning jutsu!_** "

A small orange toad appeared and said " _Yo!_ Was I summoned?!" the small toad sweat dropped at the scene of the orange clad Naruto dancing around happily claiming he'd summoned _a real toad instead of a tadpole_ this time. The toad turned to the much larger Gama and said, "Was this guy dropped on his head too many times?"

The always taciturn Gama simply shrugged and croaked in reply. Naruto stopped dancing and ran over in front of the small toad. "This is so cool! You're the first real toad I've ever summoned! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo. What is yours?"

The small toad smiled and said, "Yo! I'm Gamakichi, son of the Toad Boss Gumbunta. I've never been summoned before."

" _Awesome!_ " yelled both youngsters. Jiraiya and Gama both smiled at the kid's enthusiasm….

 **The Hyūga Compound**

Hinata was in her room going over her list of things to do:

 _Date Naruto-kun_

 _Keep Hanabi-chan safe from the Elders_

 _Free the Branch Family from the Caged Bird seal_

 _Date Naruto-kun_

 _Unseat the Hyūga Elder Council_

 _Train with Naruto-kun so he'll crush Neji into paste_

 _Date Naruto-kun_

 _Meet up with Pyrrha Nikos and try to form an alliance_

 _Shock the hell out of Hiashi with my new clothes….because I can_

 _…_ _.And date Naruto-kun_

"That's a good start for the list." thought Hinata aloud.

It was mid morning and there was a terrified shriek heard in the Hyūga Compound. Hinata was getting ready to go out in her new battle dress. Hanabi was doing her morning taijutsu exercises in the dojo. Neji was dwelling on his fate in his bedroom….and Hiashi just discovered the bill for Hinata's new and racy wardrobe and was having a meltdown. Hinata heard what sounded like a stampeding herd of wild elephants coming up to her door when Hiashi burst in holding the incriminating receipt from Hinata's shopping spree. The Hyūga patriarch was about to yell something when he saw Hinata's new red and gold battle dress that showed off all her feminine curves quite nicely. Hinata raised an eyebrow at Hiashi's wild eyed look and said coolly, "Hiashi-sama, you are supposed to **_knock_** before entering a lady's room."

Hiashi was torn between having a heart attack over Hinata's new attire and having an aneurism over the _bill_ for Hinata's new attire. In a raspy, choking voice he said, "Hyūga Hinata, **_where_** are your clothes?!"

Hinata smirked, "I'm _wearing_ them Hiashi-sama. These allow much more freedom of movement in combat. If you'll excuse me now I need grab a picnic basket for lunch before I go out to spar."

Hiashi's eyes bugged out as he blocked the door and said, " _You aren't going_ _ **ANYWHERE**_ _dressed like that!_ "

Having heard the commotion, the Main Branch House maid Hyūga Natsu peered from behind the wild eyed Hiashi and said, " _Oh my!_ Those clothes are quite daring Hinata-sama."

The clan head charged towards Hinata's closet and grabbed the biggest, heaviest article of clothing he could find -a parka. " ** _This_** _will cover you up!_ " he said wildly as he lunged towards his eldest daughter and wrapped the fur lined parka around her. Twenty minutes of kicking and screaming later Hiashi had a grim smile of victory adorning his battered face. He had a black eye and a split lip with bruises and scratches all over his body. It had been a vicious battle but Hiashi stood triumphant over his foe. On the floor his daughter was bundled up tightly and looked about as sexy as an Emperor penguin in an overcoat. "Let that be a lesson to you Hinata." he said in a superior tone.

The penguin/kunoichi rolled over on the floor to face up at him and growled, " ** _HIASHI-SAMA_** …." That's when the Hyūga patriarch realized he was staring down at his Maid Hyūga Natsu and his daughter Hinata was nowhere to be found….

 ** _Outside_** ….

Hinata was stepping out of the front gates of the Hyūga Compound with a picnic basket in hand chuckling to herself when she heard Natsu go off like an atom bomb inside the Main Branch House. ' _Ah, the replacement technique is a wonderful thing. On a totally unconnected note, I had no idea the prim and proper Natsu even knew such words. She's screaming enough obscenities to make a sailor blush_ ….'

 **Training Ground 52**

Blake Belladonna was practicing with Anko a bit to polish up her skills. Anko already knew Blake was superb at evasion but there were a lot of odd kinks in Blake's style thanks to the rather violent merger between Kin and Blake's souls. Though Blake was the predominant one she still had some of Kin's idiosyncrasies such as using senbon needles as her primary weapons instead of kunai. It wasn't a huge issue but as things stood the new Blake's fluidity wasn't up to par and that could be _fatal_ in combat. Anko went for a foot sweep that Blake avoided acrobatically with a back flip and retaliated by taking a long range slash at Anko with her kusarigama. They Snake Mistress avoided the shot deftly with a duck and was about to charge when the two kunoichis saw something diving at them out of the sun. They both instinctively leapt back as it plummeted to the earth….

" ** _YEEEAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!_** " screamed the object as it cratered the ground throwing dirt into the air.

Blake said "…." as she stared at the smoking crater.

"…." agreed Anko as the dust settled.

" ** _Ouch._** " said a blonde haired young man as he crawled out of the crater in the ground. He was filthy. "Did anyone get the name of that battle toad that hit me?" he asked blearily as his double vision settled on Anko and Blake. "Two pretty kunoichis with bows in their hair and two crazy snake ladies. Whoa, this is _really cosmic_ man." The dirt covered blonde fell over on his face and said, "I think I'll take a short break…." Then he started snoring loudly.

Blake looked at Anko and asked, " _Why_ is he not dead? He left a **_crater_** in the ground _with his face_."

"Well….Uzumaki Naruto is our number one most unpredictable knucklehead ninja…." said Anko with a shrug. "I guess we should check him over." she added. Anko rolled him over and saw Naruto looked like he'd lost a war. He had several marks on him that bore a remarkable resemblance to a toad's footprints….only huge.

Blake brushed the dirt off Naruto face and saw his whisker marks. Her amber eyes widened and she sniffed delicately. ' _Is he a faunus?! He smells like a fox!_ ' The cat eared girl saw a large shadow fall over her and looked up.

"I see you two lovely ladies found my wayward apprentice." said a large man with white hair.

Anko looked up from the apparent corpse of Naruto. "Jiraiya-sama; I didn't know you were in the village."

"Well, well. If it isn't Anko-chan." said Jiraiya. "Naruto seems to have crashed in on your sparring session. Sorry about that."

Blake blinked. "Jiraiya-sama as in the amazing, incredible author?!"

"That would be me my dear. Are you a fan of my work?" asked the super pervert.

Blake jumped up and stood in front of Jiraiya before she said eagerly, "Last night I read _Icha-Icha Paradise_ for the first time! I'm completely hooked! I _must_ get your autograph!"

Jiraiya chuckled at the earnest girl. "Well, anything for my fans!" He pulled out a copy of _Icha-Icha Violence_ and said, "This is the second book in my best selling series! Who shall I sign this to my dear?"

"I'm Blake Belladonna, Jiraiya-sama." said the faunus girl with barely contained excitement.

The super pervert signed with flourish, "To the amber eyed beauty, Blake. Signed the great Jiraiya-sama." Handing the book over to Blake she held onto it as if it was made of gold.

A weak voice said, "….Ero-sennin, leave that poor girl alone…."

Blake looked down and realized she inadvertently was standing on the downed Naruto. ' _I was so excited to meet Jiraiya-sama I didn't look where I was standing!_ ' "I'm terribly sorry! I wasn't looking where I was I when I stood up!" she said apologetically as she hopped off of Naruto's chest.

"Don't worry about my apprentice." said Jiraiya with a smile. "He should feel honored to be walked all over by such a beautiful young lady as yourself Blake." The Toad Sanin turned to Naruto. "You've rested long enough Naruto. Let's get back to work."

Naruto coughed up some dirt as he sat up and said, "Right; I need more training in if I'm going to win in the Chunin Exam Finals." Rolling over on all fours he stood up and small cloud of dust came off of him.

Blake asked with concern in her amber eyes, "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you just fell out of the sky!" ' _I can't ask him if he's a faunus in front of others. He may be keeping a low profile like I am_.'

"Eh? I'm okay." said Naruto as he stretched with an unnatural popping noise that made Blake and Anko both wince. "See? No problem!" added the blonde with a toothy smile.

"Sorry again I was standing on you." said the cat eared girl in embarrassment. "Ummm….I'm Blake; Blake Belladonna." she said holding out her hand to shake.

Naruto wiped the dirt off his hands and shook her hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo! It's nice to meet you Blake." Looking at the crater he said, "Sorry I interrupted your spar."

 ** _Nearby_** ….

It was upon the sight of Naruto shaking hands with the cat eared girl that Hinata spotted him from Training Ground 53. Her byakugan eyes narrowed and she wondered ' _Who is this girl?_ ' Getting closer Hinata could make out the faunus cat ears on Blake with her byakugan and noticed the all too familiar style of her black and white clothing. Hinata gasped. ' _Blake Belladonna?! It can't be!_ ' Hinata focused intently on Blake as she walked towards Naruto's location. ' _Amber eyes….There's no doubt about it. This girl even carries the same types of weapons as Blake. I'll have to be cautious with her_.'

Hinata came walking up to the group and waved as she called, "Naruto-kun; there you are. I thought you were going to be at Training Ground 53."

Naruto smiled and waved back as Hinata drew closer. "Hi Hinata-chan! I kind of got knocked over here when Gama kicked me."

"Who are your new friends?" asked Hinata in a kindly tone as she strolled up.

Naruto said, "This is Blake Belladonna. We just met." Then he motioned to Anko. "….And this is the Crazy Snake Lady from the Forest of Death."

Blake covered her smile with her hand as Anko fumed. "My name is _Mitarashi Anko_ you orange wearing brat; not Crazy Snake Lady!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in amusement and Hinata said, "I remember you Mitarashi-san. You attacked Naruto-kun and licked the blood off his cheek during the exams." The heiress spoke to Blake as she held out her hand to shake, "I'm pleased to meet you Blake-san. I am Hyūga Hinata. You must be new here in Konoha."

Blake's mind was reeling. ' _This girl….her style of dress and the way she carries herself_ ….' "It's nice to meet you Hinata-san; please call me Blake. I just arrived here in Konoha and I'm a probationary genin under Anko."

The underlying tension in the air was thick and Jiraiya and Anko picked up on it easily as the two young kunoichis sized each other up. They were still shaking hands.

' _She's definitely Cinder Fall. There's no mistaking that aura_.' thought Blake. "I can't help but feel like _we've met somewhere before_ Hinata." said Blake as she let loose a tiny bit of killing intent.

Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly but she didn't lose her composure. "Perhaps we met _in another life_ Blake. You never know about these things." _'I shouldn't be surprised that she recognizes me I suppose. She always had good instincts. It does clear any doubts in my mind that she is the same Blake Belladonna though -or at least part of her is. I need to avoid conflict with her if she is a Konoha kunoichi regardless_.' "We'll have to get to know each other better later."

"Yes, I'd like that very much." replied the cat eared girl. ' _Is she merged with someone else like I am? She's obviously a Hyūga so she_ _ **has**_ _to be_.' "Perhaps we could train together." ' _I need to find Pyrrha and fast_.'

"We should all train together!" said Naruto. He'd completely missed the friction between the two girls.

Anko decided to diffuse the situation. "Maybe we can train some other time Uzumaki. I'm afraid that Blake-chan and I have a busy schedule to keep."

….

After Naruto and the others bid Blake and Anko farewell they headed back over to Training Ground 53. "So how did you end up at Training Ground 52 Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.

"I was practicing my taijutsu with Gama while Gamakichi watched and the little fiend distracted me." explained Naruto. "Gama nailed me with a drop kick and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air and crash landed on Training Ground 52."

"Sounds like this Gamakichi needs to be _punished_." said Hinata menacingly.

Naruto shrugged. "Eh, Gamakichi is alright. He was just pranking me. I kind of like the little guy."

' _They sound like two peas in a pod_.' thought Hinata. "Well, if you say so Naruto-kun."

….

 **Anko and Blake's apartment**

After leaving the training grounds and heading back to their shared apartment Anko decided to ask what was on her mind as they ate a light lunch together.

"Just what happened back there at the training grounds Blake?" asked Anko with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

Blake said slowly, "That girl Hyūga Hinata….she's from the original Blake and Pyrrha's world; at least in part. She's a mortal enemy of theirs named Cinder Fall. Blake Belladonna died trying to pursue her. Cinder murdered Pyrrha Nikos. I need to go see Pyrrha and warn her. Her life could be in danger."

Anko didn't show it outwardly but she was very alarmed inside. "Hyūga Hinata is the heiress to a very high ranking clan here in Konoha. This could be very bad news. We need to inform the Hokage."

"What about Pyrrha?" She _needs_ to know." said Blake.

"I'm breaking protocols since you are under probation but let's head over to the Yamanaka Flower Shop first." said Anko.

Blake nodded and said, "Thank you Anko. I really mean it."

….

 **Training Ground 53**

Naruto, Hinata and Jiraiya had the lunch that Hinata brought with her. Naruto was amazed that Hinata could cook so well and praised her highly which made Hinata blush. Naruto soon got back at work warming up for his afternoon training session. After debating for several minutes; Hinata decided to talk to Jiraiya about her situation. ' _There is no helping it I suppose_.' "I need to see the Hokage Jiraiya-sama." said the Hyūga heiress somberly.

Jiraiya said, "So your encounter with that girl Blake made you decide to come clean about what happened during your coma did it?"

Hinata looked sideways up at Jiraiya. "You're very perceptive."

"I _am_ a spymaster Hinata-chan." said the Toad Sanin. "Why didn't you tell Hokage-sama to begin with?"

She looked down sadly. "I didn't want to lose my chances with Naruto-kun was the main reason…."

Jiraiya nodded and made a shadow clone to keep an eye on Naruto's training. "You may find things aren't as bad as you think Hinata. Have a little faith. Let's go see my old sensei."

….

 **Yamanaka Flower Shop**

Pyrrha set down the last pot of flowers that needed to be moved and wiped the sweat off her brow. Smiling, she looked over at the completely wiped out Ino. "That was a good workout. Now that's all done and we can devote our energy to other things instead of stretching it out all week."

Sakura was there sitting by the counter watching Ino and Pyrrha work as she sipped on her drink. "Wow Pyrrha, you are a human dynamo! You look pretty pathetic there in comparison Ino."

"Says the girl who has done nothing but sit and watch while we sweated blood for my Mom!" complained Ino.

"Sakura did offer to help." commented Pyrrha.

Ino got a gleam in her eye. "And that's how Forehead got out of it!" the blonde exclaimed. "She always offers to help when my Mom is around because she knows that Mom will always insist that Sakura doesn't get dirty helping out. If it was up to me I'd be working Forehead to the bone!"

"Gee, I love you too Ino-pig!" snarked Sakura. "I never ask you to do MY chores when you are over at my place."

"That's because you're OCD and always have to do everything yourself!" said the blonde.

The rosette retorted, "No, it's because you are a _total slob!_ "

Pyrrha sweat dropped as the two best friends/worst rivals bickered back and forth until the bell on the door jingled signaling someone was coming into the shop. Ino immediately had a drastic personality change and magically appeared behind the counter with a friendly smile. "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop! I'm Yamanaka Ino; how may I help you today?" asked the blonde kunoichi.

Mitarashi Anko came marching in and said, "I remember you from the Forest of Death girl." She added with an evil smile, "Have you gotten any braver since then?"

Ino visibly cringed at the Snake Mistress. "Jonin M-Mitarashi Anko….Ummm….C-can I help you?"

"Yeah, actually you can." replied Anko with a nod. "I'm looking for your guest Pyrrha Nikos."

Pyrrha came forward. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos. May I help you?"

Anko nodded at the redhead. "Are you friends with a girl named Blake Belladonna?"

Pyrrha's green eyes got huge. "Blake? She's here?! She's my friend and classmate. How do you know her?"

Blake poked her head in the shop hearing Pyrrha's excited voice. "Is it really you Pyrrha?" asked the faunus girl hopefully.

Pyrrha turned and saw Blake's amber eyes full of hope. "Blake…."

The two girls embraced each other with tears in their eyes. "Ruby told me you were dead….I thought I'd never see you again." said Blake quietly.

When the two separated and Pyrrha asked quietly, "What happened? How did you get here…? Did you die too?"

"I was going to hunt down where you and Cinder Fall vanished and I was killed by the energy that brought me here." said the faunus girl. "I found her and I had to warn you."

"Cinder Fall is _here?_ " whispered Pyrrha fearfully.

Blake nodded as serious as death. "She's someone else now just like I am and I suspect you are. She even looks different from who she was but it's _her_. I-"

"Pyrrha-chan, who is your friend?" asked Ino out of nowhere startling Pyrrha and Blake out of their discussion. Pyrrha saw Ino staring curiously with Sakura also looking intently at them.

"Ah, Blake is a friend of mine I remember from before." said Pyrrha embarrassed. "Blake, these are my friends Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. Ino, Sakura; this is my good friend Blake Belladonna that I knew before I came to Konoha."

Blake nodded at them and said, "Nice to meet you." She remembered both Sakura and Ino from the Forest of Death and wasn't too impressed from Kin's memories of the pair. She didn't say anything though.

Anko said, "We need to inform Hokage-sama of the situation. It would probably be a good to get Inoichi as well if he's home."

Ino said, "Daddy is home but I'm running the shop!"

"I'll get him; wait here guys." said Sakura. She quickly trotted back into the house to find Inoichi.

"So where are you two from originally Blake-san?" asked Ino inquisitively. "Pyrrha-chan has memory damage from what Daddy said."

"Well, I-" started Blake.

Anko cut Blake off. "That's classified for now Genin Yamanaka. No further questions. The Hokage has made both Blake and Pyrrha probationary genins so there origins are of no consequence as far as you are concerned."

Inoichi came out of the back with Sakura trailing him. "What's going on Anko? Sakura said you needed to take Pyrrha-chan to see Hokage-sama."

Anko quickly went through the ANBU hand signs [A third person outside these two has been found. It's the Hyūga Heiress].

The Yamanaka patriarch's eyes widened slightly. He signed, [That explains some things. Is the Heiress dangerous?]

[Possibly, it has not been determined yet]. was Anko's reply.

Inoichi said, "Let me get my gear and we'll head to the Hokage Tower." Turning to his daughter and Sakura he said, "Princess, Sakura-chan; you two stay here. Not a word of this leaves this room. Those are my orders to you as a superior officer."

….

 **Hokage's Office**

Hyūga Hinata was sitting in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen. Jiraiya was there as well as ANBU Hawk. "So my suspicions where correct about you undergoing some mental changes. After the situation with Pyrrha Nikos I'm not all that surprised. You will have to submit to a mind walk by Yamanaka Inoichi you realize." said the Third Hokage in a reasonable tone.

"I understand Hokage-sama." said Hinata quietly. "I'll agree to a mind walk of course."

"Why did you hide it Hinata?" asked the Hokage. "You are a bright girl. You obviously knew you were being watched and would eventually be caught."

"There are several reasons Hokage-sama." said the Heiress with a sigh. "I needed to be discreet. With my new found confidence I could right the wrongs in my clan and get closer to the boy I admire the most."

"….And the other reasons?" asked Hiruzen.

"I knew my clan would remove me from my position and I would no longer be able to unite the houses and get rid of the Caged Bird seal. I couldn't allow that and I have to protect my little sister Hanabi-chan from the Elders." answered Hinata. "That and I hoped to make peace with Pyrrha Nikos as Cinder Fall actually was her enemy and executed her without mercy."

Hiruzen nodded. "So part of you is Cinder Fall and part of you is Hyūga Hinata. Which soul won the battle?"

Hinata looked puzzled. "I don't understand the question Hokage-sama; what battle?"

"You had two souls within you battling for dominance. Which one ended up in control?" asked the aged Hokage.

The Heiress answered, "Both Hinata and Cinder were dying and willingly fused by choice so they could live. There was no battle for dominance. They became a new and better person than either was. I have the strength and confidence that Hinata never had but I also possess the kindness and compassion Cinder never had. I called myself the Fall Maiden but as I look like and have assumed the role of Hyūga Hinata I adopted that identity as my own. When Blake Belladonna discovered who I was earlier today I predicted her revealing my identity and decided to come to you willingly first."

"Three different results for three different soul mergers. It's quite fascinating." said ANBU Hawk. "Inoichi-sama will no doubt want to document all of this."

"I take it Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos had different circumstances then?" asked Hinata.

Hiruzen shrugged. "It won't hurt to tell you. Pyrrha Nikos' soul was dominant because the other soul simply had no will to continue. Blake Belladonna's souls viciously fought for dominance though Blake prevailed in the end. Fascinating or not it's most disturbing that this is happening. Dying souls are migrating from this place called Remnant and joining with dying souls here. We don't know when or where Remnant even is and we have no idea why either. Hinata; I want your full cooperation in this matter. There must be some explanation for all of this."

Hinata nodded somberly, "I will help in whatever way I can."

….

The Hokage's buzzer on his desk went off. His secretary Maki's voice rang through. "A thousand apologies Hokage-sama. I know you did not wish to be interrupted but Yamanaka Inoichi-sama is here and he explained that the situation is urgent."

Hiruzen answered, "It is alright Maki; I trust he has Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos with him?"

The secretary sounded baffled, "Yes sir; how did you know?"

"It's connected to what I'm doing now; send Inoichi and his group in." replied the Hokage. He motioned to his former student. "Let them in please Jiraiya."

….

Both Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos were a bit shocked to find Hinata was already there apparently waiting for them. Hinata said, "I anticipated you two would come to the Hokage so I simply came of my own accord with Jiraiya-sama. What took you so long?"

"So you really are Cinder Fall." said Pyrrha bitterly.

"Only half of me is. The other half is Hinata." said the Heiress. "I am not your enemy believe it or not."

"This is all pretty surreal." commented Anko.

Hiruzen said, "It looks like you have your work cut out for you Inoichi."

The Yamanaka patriarch just sighed….

….

 **Training Ground 53**

"Are you sure Hinata-chan is alright Ero-sennin?" asked Naruto in a concerned tone. "I should have gone with her to see Hokage Jiji."

Jiraiya's clone said, "It has to do with the coma she was in. It will work out Naruto. She needs to do this and you need to be training. You've completed the leaf cutting exercise. In Suna they often learn to cut rocks before they move on to cutting a waterfall."

"It sure got stormy earlier Ero-sennin." said Naruto. "I felt like the clouds were pulling at me; that's pretty weird huh?"

' _I wonder if he actually has the_ _ **Typhoon release***_ _?_ ' pondered Jiraiya's clone. ' _Some Uzumakis back in Uzu could control the weather after all. I'll have to see if there are any scrolls on the subject. Kushina-chan didn't have it but she had chakra chains_.' "I'll look into that this evening. In the meantime let's look at your progress on the rasengan. Show me the water balloon exercise."

Naruto quickly grabbed a balloon and popped it easily. "How's that sensei?" asked the orange loving ninja.

Jiraiya's clone grinned. "You have the concept of rotation down pretty well Naruto. The next step is power." He unsealed a box of rubber balls. "Now you need to pop these rubber balls like this." The clone demonstrated and the ball burst. "Make about twenty clones and let's get started."

….

 **Hokage Tower**

Inoichi found himself quite immersed in his work. Hinata's mind was very different from Pyrrha's. Both Cinder and Hinata were very neat, organized and orderly unlike Pyrrha's psyche which seemed to be missing pieces and fragmented because Ise Kato's psyche had more or less self destructed; leaving Pyrrha'd psyche to pick up the pieces. On the other hand; Hinata and Cinder's personalities seemed to mesh almost seamlessly in a combined effort for them both to **_survive_**. It was both fascinating and befuddling to Inoichi because the kind and sweet Hinata and the dark and vicious Cinder seemed to be opposites to the degree that a dichotomy existing should be inevitable….

It was quite the opposite. At their cores Cinder and Hinata were very much alike; driven, hard working young women that wanted to succeed. They had clear cut goals and while Inoichi found some of Cinder's goals questionable that did not change the fact that she was a straightforward person. To Inoichi it was almost frightening how well the two blended. It was evident that the two sets of memories were merging to the degree that telling where one psyche ended and the other began was already being erased. In their place was a well rounded kunoichi that was very loyal to Konoha and channeled her energies into changing things in the Hyūga Clan….and she wasn't afraid to play dirty to get it.

Ordinarily Inoichi would have considered upsetting the largest and most powerful clan in Konoha a bad thing but the new Hinata's overriding goal was to get rid of the Caged Bird seal and unite the main and branch families. It was a goal which Inoichi found admirable. Furthermore, since it was an internal clan issue even the Hokage had no right to intercede given the nature of clan laws in the Konoha Charter. Hinata had already studied the matter thoroughly and had an ironclad case that as the Heiress of the Hyūga she could fix the internal issues in the Hyūga Clan any damn way she pleased so long as the clan fulfilled its obligations to Konoha….

….The new Hyūga Hinata was an intelligent, clever and cunning young kunoichi.

Coming out of his two hour mind walk Inoichi quickly started documenting the facts about the new Hyūga Hinata:

 _-She is a loyal kunoichi of Konoha that shows all the signs of being a superb leader someday._

 _-She wishes to change things within the Hyūga Clan's current situation without doing any harm to Konoha proper._

 _-She plans to make reparations with both Pyrrha Nikos and Blake Belladonna as she believes they would be good allies to have in the future._

 _-She exhibits no signs of instability or mental collapse that one might expect from a soul merger._

Conclusions:

 _-Hyūga Hinata shows all signs of being a mentally healthy young woman and a fine kunoichi. She is an asset to Konoha; not a threat in any way._

 _-Recommend regular psyche checks for her to monitor her progression._

 _-Recommend that her new status is NOT revealed to the Hyūga Clan._

 _-Recommend that she works with both Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos to ensure their future working relationships are successful._

….

"Whew; this is quite a little task here Seiko." said Inoichi to ANBU Hawk.

"I'm Hawk while on duty Inoichi-sama." said Hawk.

"Sorry Hawk; I let my discipline slip due to fatigue." said Inoichi. "I'm going to do Blake Belladonna's mind walk tomorrow. I need to discuss this matter with Hokage-sama. Please keep watch over young Hinata until she wakes up."

….

Twenty minutes later Inoichi was sitting with the Hokage. "….And that concludes my report Hokage-sama. I believe that the odds of two people merging this way so successfully are incredibly slim but for Hinata it was a complete success."

Hiruzen puffed his pipe. "It seems that both personalities working to survive _together_ is a huge factor. While Hinata's attitude is slightly different it's nothing that couldn't be attributed to growing up a bit from the experiences of the chunin exams. We'll leave it at that. Once you've mind walked young Blake tomorrow we will see about getting the three together to work out their differences."

"You don't intend to punish Hinata for not revealing her circumstances then Hokage-sama?" asked Inoichi.

The aged Hokage shook his head. "To be honest anyone would be terrified of informing their superiors that an extra soul existed in their mind. Besides, the improvements she's shown with her Fire Juken alone are quite astounding. We'll be monitoring all three girls but punishing them or confining them would be detrimental….And just between you and I Inoichi; I hope Hinata brings that barbaric Caged Bird seal to an end. I can't interfere directly because I am the Hokage but I _can_ inadvertently help young Hinata along."

Inoichi smiled. "Yes, _inadvertently_ of course."

 **Training Ground 53**

"Well, let's wrap it up for the evening Naruto." said Jiraiya. "You made some good progress today. Sarutobi-sensei let my clone know that your friend Hinata will be back tomorrow and that everything is fine."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "That's a load off of my mind Ero-sennin. I was really worried about Hinata-chan."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and thought of Minato and Kushina. "Tell you what; for working so hard today I'll treat you to dinner. What do you want?"

The orange loving blonde predictably said " ** _Ramen! Ichiraku's ramen!_** "

The Toad sanin shook his head and smiled. "Ramen it is then."

All in all it hadn't been a bad day as far as Jiraiya was concerned….

POSTSCRIPT:

*Typhoon Release: a stronger form of Wind Release is called **Typhoon Release** (颱遁, _Taiton_ ), which is a kekkei genkai. It is used to summon storms that mow down the surroundings and are strong enough to move entities like Susanoo.

Well, another chapter in the books. The Third Hokage seems quite pleased with Hinata's plans to eliminate the Caged Bird seal and is supporting the idea in an under the table manner. Naruto is learning quickly and all the major players are now aware of each other. Next chapter we are going to see what Inoichi finds inside Blake's mind and the three girls are going to attempt to somewhat come to terms with each other. We'll see Pyrrha meet a certain orange loving prankster as well. See you next time. Blue out. 5/26/16


	5. Chapter 5

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Special shout out to **Solvdrage** for inspiring some of this chapter's dialogue. Just for the information of my readers; several people have **_Storm Release_** and **_Typhoon Release_** confused. They are two different things. Typhoon Release was in one of the novels and is a kekkei genkai. Special thanks to **fresh prince 1** for correcting me on this. It is based in wind _only_ ; not water and lightning. Technically (in spite of the names) Typhoon Release can _affect_ the weather; Storm release _imitates_ the weather. Look both of them up in Narutopedia and you will see the difference. It explains them much better than I can. Okay, now on to chapter 5! Enjoy!

Last time:

 ** _Training Ground 53_**

 _"_ _Well, let's wrap it up for the evening Naruto." said Jiraiya. "You made some good progress today. Sarutobi-sensei let my clone know that your friend Hinata will be back tomorrow and that everything is fine."_

 _Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "That's a load off of my mind Ero-sennin. I was really worried about Hinata-chan."_

 _Jiraiya looked at Naruto and thought of Minato and Kushina. "Tell you what; for working so hard today I'll treat you to dinner. What do you want?"_

 _The orange loving blonde predictably said "_ _ **Ramen! Ichiraku's ramen!**_ _"_

 _The Toad sanin shook his head and smiled. "Ramen it is then."_

 _All in all it hadn't been a bad day as far as Jiraiya was concerned…._

Chapter 5

 **Konoha, Yamanaka Residence**

Yamanaka Inoichi was sitting down after mind walking Blake Belladonna. It had been a rough morning for the Yamanaka Clan head. He saw the former battleground that was the mindscape the insane Tsuchi Kin and the White Fang hardened Blake Belladonna fought a war of genocide in. It looked like a wrecked, burned out metropolis. For all intents and purposes Blake fought for every inch by bloody inch to destroy Kin's madness that afflicted the tortured Oto kunoichi's soul to the core. Blake's mind was organized like a fortress to keep the madness out. Kin did her best to invade but only scattered snippets of her personality, memories and skills remained now. It seemed the things wired into the original Kin's body like chakra control and genjutsu were mostly what remained of the Oto genin. Recent memories seemed to remain. Also, a few personality traits such as Kin's temper and things like biases against weaker kunoichis were there but for the most part Blake was forced to exterminate Kin to save herself.

All was not lost though. The scorched landscaped was fertile. Seeds of new thoughts and new memories were rapidly being made. What scraps of Kin that still existed be it knowledge or personality were being quickly integrated into the new Blake. It turned out Blake was an avid reader and was soaking up information that was filling the damaged areas of her psyche. Inoichi felt it was a tremendous testament to Blake's strength of will that she came out of such a hellish situation intact. Most people would have snapped or been mentally broken forever. Unlike Pyrrha's psyche that had large gaps that were slowly being filled at a leisurely pace, Blake's mind was rebuilding and repairing itself rapidly.

Inoichi found that Blake's main anchor as things stood was Mitarashi Anko. The two women seemed to have formed a sisterly bond in the short time they had been living together. Both had dealt with prejudice against them and both hated Orochimaru with a passion. They were also both very serious about their jobs as kunoichis. The Yamanaka Clan head was originally going to recommend moving Blake and Pyrrha into their own place together but seeing how well both young women were doing in their current environments; it convinced Inoichi that their present living situations were for the best. If Blake and Pyrrha were thriving then helping them flourish was Inoichi's job. He also felt it would be good for Anko to have someone close to her again.

Inoichi had an idea or two though and planned to present them to Blake and Pyrrha once the faunus girl woke up….

….

 **Training Ground 53**

Hinata was sparring with Naruto and he was using chakra to deflect her strikes as best as he could. She explained as they circled each other, "My Father Haishi-sama seems bound and determined to have me come home for lunch Naruto-kun. If Hanabi-chan hadn't practically begged me I would have said no."

Naruto put chakra in his palms and started intercepting her incoming strikes. "Well, I hate for you to not be here when you made us lunch again. Do you want to take it home with you?"

The Heiress shook her head. "No, you and Jiraiya-sama enjoy it Naruto-kun. I'll just take the empty basket back so I can bring something special tomorrow. Besides, unless something comes up I should be back this afternoon."

Jiraiya carefully watched as the two young teens increased their speed and soon were blurs in motion. He noticed tiny wisps of steam coming off of Naruto as the orange loving ninja moved. "Freeze!" he called. Naruto and Hinata separated. The sanin said, "Hinata, look at Naruto's arms where you managed close his chakra points."

Hinata focused her byakugan and saw Naruto's chakra points that she had closed were reopening with tiny bursts of red chakra. "Jiraiya-sama, Naruto-kun's tenketsus are reopening on their own with chakra….red chakra!* Does it hurt you Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grimaced as he realized Kyubi's chakra was reopening his chakra points. "It stings a little but I'm okay Hinata-chan."

She held his hands and watched in fascination as the last chakra point opened. "This could be a huge advantage for you in combat! How are you doing it Naruto-kun?"

"It's something unique to Naruto, Hinata-chan." said Jiraiya warmly as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Consider it an S-Class secret. Only Naruto and the Hokage can talk about it for now so please don't pry."

Hinata saw the fear in Naruto's eyes and she placed a hand on his cheek to comfort him. Smiling softly, she said, "Your secret is safe with me Naruto-kun."

Naruto gently laid his hand over hers and said, "Thank you Hinata-chan. It means a lot to me. I'll explain it to you….someday." Naruto's stomach suddenly growled. "It must almost be lunch time!" said Naruto with a grin.

Hinata could tell Naruto was relieved at the change of subject. ' _I wonder why the secret frightens him so_.' she thought sadly. "Well, unfortunately I have to trudge back to the Hyūga Compound to freshen up for lunch with my family. I'll try to be back later Naruto-kun. Otherwise I'll see both of you in the morning." Acting before she had a chance to think it through, Hinata gave Naruto a peck on the cheek before she ran back home with a huge blush on her face.

Naruto blushed and touched his cheek where Hinata kissed him….He had such a faraway look in his blue eyes and was so distracted that he didn't even notice Jiraiya was giggling and scribbling notes like a madman….

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

"You want us to set up a time for us kunoichis to train together?" asked Blake puzzled.

"That's the idea." said Inoichi. "Given we are mobilizing it would be in everyone's best interest to work hard together." He turned to Pyrrha. "What do you think Pyrrha-chan?"

The redhead smiled. "I'm always up for training. I need to master my magnet release bloodline better."

Inoichi steepled his index fingers. "How about this; you two, Ino-chan and Sakura-chan; (Blake sighed) and….Hyūga Hinata."

Pyrrha looked shocked and Blake looked angry. "Cinder Fall put us through _hell_." growled Blake. "She _murdered_ Pyrrha. _How_ can you expect us to work with her?"

"I _do_ understand your relationship with Cinder Fall." said Inoichi in a placating tone. "But you have to realize that Hyūga Hinata _is not_ Cinder Fall. Hinata is a new person just as you two are. The main difference is Cinder Fall and Hinata chose to merge peacefully to assure their survival. Blake, the battle that you had with Kin was horrific and you became dominant as a result. In Pyrrha's case the ninja Ise Kato simply gave up and passed on which left Pyrrha the sole personality. She alone is _mostly_ intact personality wise. But both of you have noticed changes in your knowledge and the way you think and act. Hinata is the same. All three of you are more than sum totals of your forebears; you are _new_ people."

"So what exactly do you make of this _new_ Hyūga Hinata Inoichi-san?" asked Pyrrha. "Cinder Fall was an evil, power hungry woman who wasn't afraid to sacrifice as many lives as necessary to complete her goals! Blake and I know _nothing_ about who Hinata was before."

"And that precisely what I want to talk about Pyrrha-chan." said Inoichi. "Hear me out. If nothing else all of you are Konoha kunoichis and will have to work together and trust each other as _professionals_ even if you don't get along on a _personal_ level."

Blake looked irritated but said, "Fine, tell us about this Hinata. I doubt I'll ever like her but I'll listen."

"If Blake is willing I guess I am too." said Pyrrha in a resigned tone.

Inoichi nodded in approval. "That's all I can ask. Besides, the three of you are keeping each other's secrets about the soul mergers. None of you are to ever make that information public as you well know." Both girls nodded. "I'm going to tell you a bit about the _new_ Hinata from my observations but you should both talk to Ino-chan and Sakura-chan about the _past_ Hinata because they went to the Academy with her…."

….

 **The Hyūga Compound**

Hinata arrived at the compound and had finally gotten her blush under control. She was squealing mentally, ' ** _I KISSED NARUTO-KUN!_** ' and doing back flips inside her head. After taking a deep breath to calm herself, the excited young kunoichi put on an air of cool composure and went to her room to wash up from sparring with Naruto….

Thirty minutes later Hinata came out of her room wearing a red kimono with gold patterns that matched her battle dress but wasn't nearly as revealing. She also had her still short hair worn over to her left side much like Cinder Fall wore hers. Her left eye was hidden by her bangs. Hinata looked quite stunning and regal for a simple lunch with her Father and little sister. The Heiress thought to herself as she closed her bedroom door behind her, ' _Come what may; I am armed for battle. Hiashi-sama has a purpose behind this. I wonder if Hanabi-chan will even be present_.'

Hinata came to the main family dining area where she, Hanabi and her Father traditionally had their meals together. Unfortunately, as Hinata expected, her Father was there along with her Grandfather, the Head Elder. Hanabi was nowhere to be seen. Hinata activated her byakugan for a split second and saw the family dining area wasn't lined with armed guards. As Hinata entered the room she gave a slight bow –enough to be polite but not enough to show deference. "Hiashi-sama, _esteemed_ Head Elder; I bid you greetings. I wasn't expecting such company for a _mere lunch_."

The Elder bristled slightly. ' _Hinata is deliberately trying to anger me when all I want is to discuss her Fire Juken in regards to the clan. Why?_ '

Hiashi saw a gleam in his daughter's visible eye. It was as if the Elder was nothing but a tender, juicy and defenseless deer and Hinata was stalking him like a tigress. ' _This isn't good….I should have brought Hanabi-chan. I knew Father's insistence on being here instead was a bad idea_ ….' thought Hiashi.

Hinata said nothing and gracefully seated herself in the seiza position opposite of her Grandfather with Hiashi at the head of the table. Lunch was served and Hinata didn't even attempt to engage in conversation. Hiashi resigned himself to not commenting on Hinata's more flamboyant wardrobe. ' _At least it shows less skin than her new battle dress….and Natsu is_ _ **still**_ _angry with me about the parka business_ ….' he thought with a shudder.

Finally not being able to stand the silence, the Elder asked, "So how are you doing today Hinata? The Elder Council has been very interested in your _Fire Juken_ that you created. We would love to see a demonstration of your art."

The Hyūga Heiress retorted in a trivializing tone, "I believe I gave Elder Hiraku all the _demonstration_ he needs to assess my abilities. He is after all, _supposedly_ the most powerful juken practitioner in the clan save for Hiashi-sama. No doubt that **_burnt handprint_** on his chest has already been dismissed as _a foolish girl's folly_ and _of no consequence to the clan_. After all, the clan head _himself_ deemed me unworthy of training. I shall continue to practice this little hobby of mine in private so as not to distract anyone with my actions." Her voice was so thick with sarcasm that the Elder felt like he was being verbally slapped in the face.

"The Hyūga Council wishes to see a demonstration Hinata." said the Elder in a patient tone though his eyebrow was twitching. "I do not think that is too much to ask of you my granddaughter."

Hinata's visible eye narrowed and then she asked politely, "I hold the position of Heiress in the Hyūga Clan do I not Elder?"

The Elder nodded. "There is no question of that now Hinata. We just wish you had shown this power sooner."

"Then there is nothing left to discuss." said Hinata dismissively. "Regardless of any political or monetary power in the Hyūga Clan the Elder Council cannot order or demand anything of the Heiress or Heir of the Clan. They serve in an advisory capacity only. As laid down in our Clan Laws the hierarchy is the Clan Head, the Heiress or Heir and **_then_** the Hyūga Elder Council. I have the option of granting or denying your requests and I **_deny you_** this one." She turned to Hiashi with a glare and said; "Only the Clan Head _Hiashi-sama_ has the right to command me in this matter and I would ask that he respect my wishes _for_ _ **once**_ _in his life_."

Hiashi cringed inside. His daughter's tone was cold as a grave in winter. Hiashi said in a stoic tone, "It is not urgent that Hinata's Fire Juken be displayed to anybody at this time. I believe she wishes to perfect it further which is why she took it upon herself to train with Jiraiya-sama. We will discuss this at a later time when it is not a point of contention."

Hinata nodded ever so slightly in affirmation and the Elder sagged a bit seeing his son Hiashi had taken the path of least resistance. Hoping to appeal emotionally to Hinata; he looked over at her and said in a saddened tone, "I was _truly_ looking forward to a demonstration from you Hinata. I'm sure the others will feel as disappointed as I do."

Hinata's chopsticks clattered onto her plate and she let out a fearsome amount of killing intent aimed at her Grandfather. The Elder's eyes widened when Hinata's byakugan glare _literally_ ignited. He gasped at the flames blazing in her eyes and Hinata said in a cold tone that would peel paint off of the walls, "You're nowhere **_nearly_** as disappointed as I am in the Council. You don't know the meaning of the disappointment of being crushed and ostracized by your so called _family!_ Mark my words; each and every one of you will regret crossing me. I am done here; this conversation has ruined my appetite." Hinata stood up quickly and left without another word….

….Both men considered it a minor miracle that she left in a quiet, stately manner instead of slamming the door off its hinges behind her. Haishi could have scolded Hinata for her abrupt departure but instead he let her walk out without saying a thing. The Elder said, "Haishi, why didn't you say something to her?"

The Clan Head sighed. "I never visited Hinata-chan while she was in the hospital in a coma because I had _clan issues_ to deal with. _I was wrong_. Just leave it be Father. I want to reconcile with my daughter before she gets even angrier with me."

After a moment the Head Elder put his hand on Haishi's shoulder. "It wasn't just you Haishi. We were _all_ wrong about Hinata my son."

….

 **Training Ground 53**

Meanwhile; Naruto and Jiraiya had stuffed themselves on the delicious lunch Hinata made for them. Naruto sighed happily while rubbing his stomach and Jiraiya said, "There's nothing like having food made for you by a beautiful woman eh Naruto?"

The orange loving ninja nodded. "You said it Jiraiya-sensei! -Hey Ero-sennin! Leave Hinata-chan out of your pervy fantasies!"

Jiraiya smacked Naruto on top of the head and said, "I'm a super-pervert, not a sicko! Hinata is _way too young_ for me! I meant she was just right for _you_ moron!"

Naruto was taken aback. "Oops, sorry Ero-sennin. My bad."

Jiraiya got a gleam in his eye. "But you did agree that Hinata-chan is a beautiful woman…." he said in a knowing tone. Jiraiya laughed as Naruto blushed atomic red and choked on his water….

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha and Blake were talking to Ino and Sakura about training together as Inoichi suggested. Inevitably they changed subjects to Hyūga Hinata though….

"You want to know about Hinata?" asked Ino. Blake and Pyrrha nodded. "Well, she's a very dedicated and loyal kunoichi. But….she has major confidence issues and is _really_ shy. Her own cousin Neji beat her up really bad because of clan issues."

Sakura interjected, "It was worse than that Ino; Neji almost killed her! He must _hate_ her for some reason. Naruto told me that Hinata was in a coma for three days. Of course, the knucklehead didn't tell me until _after_ she was out….he never does think too much."

"Weren't we discussing Hinata?" asked Blake.

"Sorry, I got off topic." said Sakura. "Anyway, Hinata is a very kind and sweet girl. She's the only other kunoichi that graduated in our class."

"Sweet and kind?" asked Pyrrha in disbelief.

Ino smiled. "Yeah, I wish we could break Hinata out of her shell. She always wears those baggy clothes like she's ashamed of her figure. The poor girl needs some serious confidence building."

Both Blake and Pyrrha had the imagery of Hinata in her red battle dress with a look of complete self assurance on her face. ' _Are they even talking about the same person…?_ ' wondered both girls.

"On top of that the unfortunate woman has _no_ taste in men." said Ino with a sigh. "I just don't understand how she doesn't see Sasuke-kun as the ideal man."

Blake looked down to hide the fact her eyes were about to roll out of her head.

"Of all boys in the world she likes _Naruto!_ " groaned Sakura melodramatically. "Gods, she's practically a princess and she likes the dead last!"

Blake's eyes narrowed. "I met Naruto and he seemed like a nice enough guy. He was training really hard for the Chunin Exam Finals." ' _Is it because he's a faunus that they dislike him?_ ' she thought defensively.

Ino replied, "It isn't like Naruto isn't….ummm; an okay person I guess. He's just a clown and a troublemaker. He was in trouble more often than not back at the Academy."

"I still think it's a miracle he passed the academy genin test." said Sakura shaking her head. "Come to think of it; he never did explain how he did that to me."

"Well, you got Sasuke-kun _and_ Naruto on your team Forehead." said Ino.

Sakura growled, "And Naruto asks me for dates and won't leave Sasuke-kun and I alone! Sasuke-kun and I would have been _engaged_ by now if it weren't for Naruto-baka interfering."

"Hardly! Sasuke-kun is destined to be with me Forehead!" declared Ino.

"Ummm, what about Hinata?" asked Pyrrha.

The rosette and the blonde stopped glaring at each other. "Well anyway, Hinata really is a really nice girl if you meet her." said Ino.

"Come to think of it we haven't seen her since the Chunin Exam Preliminaries." said Sakura. "Would you two like to meet her? We could go out to the Hyūga Compound and visit her this afternoon. I've never been inside. I'm sure Hinata would like to make some new friends."

Blake and Pyrrha looked at each other. Blake finally said, "Well, we kind of met her in passing. We were just wondering what kind of a person she is."

"All the more reason to visit her then!" trumpeted Ino. "Let's go to see Hinata-chan!"

….

 **Training Ground 53**

Naruto was working on the 'power' stage of the rasengan with a rubber ball. He watched with wide eyes as the ball swelled slightly. " _I think I've got it!_ " he thought aloud. Then a hole popped open in the side and the ball went flat much to his chagrin.

"Better luck next time Bro!" said Gamakichi as he ate some candy.

Naruto sat there staring at the deflated ball in his hand. "Curse you evil rubber ball! I will smite you and your kind yet or my name isn't Uzumaki Naruto!"

Jiraiya came over to his apprentice and said, "Leave that to your clones for now Naruto. Show me the wind jutsu you are working on. Do a wind slash and then the gale palm technique in conjunction with shuriken."

"Okay Jiraiya-sensei." answered Naruto. The blonde ninja turned to face a training post. After focusing for a moment he said, "Wind slash!" A razor sharp blade of wind hit the post and bisected it. The top half of the post slid off the base noiselessly and hit the ground with a thud.

"Excellent!" said Jiraiya. "Let's examine the cut Naruto." Jiraiya propped up the top of the post and saw the cut was as smooth as glass. "That's the way Naruto. Well done! Practicing on cutting rocks like they do in Suna has really helped. Let's work on your aim with the wind blade." He scored the severed post several times and said, "Get back about twenty five feet and aim for the top line. Don't worry about the angle of the wind blade for the moment; your goal is to hit the mark I made."

"What about the gale palm Jiraiya-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"We'll pick that one up in a bit." said the Toad sanin. "You're coming along much faster with the wind slash than I expected. I want to see what we can do to improve it."

Naruto nodded and once Jiraiya was clear he started to work with Jiraiya gradually upping the difficulty and checking Naruto's work. ' _This kid is going to be an absolute monster with wind soon. It's hard to believe he's still a novice_.'

Jiraiya's shadow clone was sitting to the side against a tree reading the scroll on _Typhoon Release_ he obtained from the Hokage's personal library that morning. ' _This looks even more promising than I expected_.' thought the clone as he watched Naruto mow down the post. ' _Right on target….superb_.'

 **The Hyūga Compound**

The guards at the gates of the Hyūga Compound were a bit startled seeing four young kunoichis there to visit Hinata out of the blue considering Hinata-sama seldom -if ever had _any_ guests. The guard hid his surprise and stated, "Well yes, Hinata-sama is here but I do not know if she is receiving visitors at this time." Flagging down another sentry, the first guard said, "Goro, please see if Hinata-sama is entertaining guests at this time. Four Konoha kunoichis of her age group wish to visit her."

 _Inside_ ….

Hyūga Natsu was talking to several of the other maids in the kitchen as Hinata rounded the corner having changed back into a fresh battle dress. Natsu said with a giggle, "Well, I watched part of it but I was more or less hopped up on cold medicine and bourbon at the time…."

One of the other maid's byakugan eyes were wide as saucers when she saw Hinata appear behind Natsu with a raised eyebrow and amusement in her eyes. "Hi-Hinata-sama…!" choked out the maid as she pointed.

All the other maids gasped. Natsu quickly whipped around to face the Heiress and said, "OhMyGodsHinatasama!" with a huge blush on her face.

Hinata gave a pleasant smile and said, "Please _do_ continue Natsu, this sounds most entertaining."

Natsu was about to faint when the sentry Goro came around the corner and said, "Ah, there you are Hinata-sama, you have four kunoichi guests at the Compound gates."

The heiress looked at Natsu and said, "We'll have to continue this _enlightening_ conversation later Natsu." Turning to Goro she said, "This was unexpected. Let's not keep my guests waiting then."

….

Coming out of the Main House Hinata activated her byakugan briefly and saw her visitors. She was very surprised but hid it well enough. ' _Sakura and Ino being here makes me curious as to why but Pyrrha and Blake? They don't look particularly happy but on the positive side they don't look hostile either. I wonder what's going on_.' Hinata strolled over to the gates with a sway in her hips and said with a congenial smile, "Hello everybody; this is an unexpected pleasure. What brings you by the Hyūga Compound?"

Ino and Sakura were gaping in awe of Hinata's new look. Ino finally managed to pick her jaw off the ground and said, "H-Hinata; is that _really_ you?"

Hinata said in a gentle tone, "Of course it's me Ino; who else would be living here?"

Sakura said, "Hinata, that dress and your hair! You're just…. _wow!_ I mean _really_ wow!" ' _She's been hiding all that? Since when has she had such a body?! Oh no, what if she likes Sasuke-kun?!_ '

"For once I am in total agreement with Forehead." said Ino. "You gave yourself quite a makeover!" ' _I never dreamed mousey little Hinata would ever be so daring! I have to stake my claim on Sasuke-kun now in case she's interested!_ '

Not realizing that Ino and Sakura were having mild panic attacks over Sasuke (who she had _no_ interest in at all), Hinata said in a kind tone, "Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos; I welcome you both to the Hyūga Compound. All of you please come in and join me for some tea."

….

 **The Yamanaka Residence**

"I wonder if those girls will be able to work together." mused Inoichi aloud. He had just finished his full reports to the Hokage regarding Hinata, Blake and Pyrrha. 'It would be in everyone's best interests for them to put their differences aside but that is easier said than done. Hinata being a combination of a very sweet and gentle kunoichi and a vicious criminal mastermind is still mind boggling. The fact she turned out to be a balanced individual is miraculous. Of course, convincing Pyrrha-chan and Blake of that is going to be difficult. At least Hinata doesn't seem to have any animosity from them previously being enemies. It's a strange case; that much is certain."

Going over his three reports one last time he made the notation that he had recommended they train together under supervision in case tempers ran hot. He considered who might be a good sensei to them but currently Anko was the only qualified kunoichi that knew of the circumstances involved. ' _Blake will probably ask Anko to be involved anyway considering they are close_.' Putting the finishing touches on his reports and signing off on them he headed to the Hokage Tower to present his findings….

 **The Hyūga Compound**

Hinata and her guests were in the main sitting room where the Hyūga Heiress served them tea and cinnamon rolls (Hinata _needed_ her cinnamon roll fix). "So you wish to start training together?" she asked.

"My Daddy suggested it." explained Ino. "It would be all us kunoichis training together! It could be fun. What do you think Hinata?"

Hinata hid her grimace. ' _I should have known Ino wouldn't train seriously of her own accord_.' "Do you have a sensei in mind to help us? I've been training with Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-sama."

Blake got a gleam in her eye. "Training with Jiraiya-sama would be great!"

"You mean Jiraiya of the sanin?" asked Sakura in surprise. Seeing Hinata and Blake nod the rosette asked, "How do you even know him Hinata?"

"He's Naruto-kun's sensei and he's been helping me a bit too. He's mainly focused on Naruto-kun because of the Chunin Exams." said Hinata. "Blake met him too while she was training with Mitarashi-san."

"Anko-san would be a great teacher from what I've seen!" said Pyrrha enthusiastically.

Blake nodded and smiled. "I'll have to ask but I bet Anko would be willing to help train us."

Sakura and Ino had identical looks of horror on their faces. " _A-Anko-san?!_ " squeaked out the blonde and the rosette as one.

"That's a fine idea." said Hinata. "I might be able to get Kurenai-sensei to help too. I know she and Anko-san went to the Academy together and they are friends." Hinata was barely able to keep a straight face at the looks of terror on Sakura and Ino's faces. ' _Bwahaha! If they want to train then we're training for real_.'

Hinata saw her sister Hanabi peer into the sitting room shyly. Hinata smiled and said, "Hanabi-chan! I missed you at lunch. Come in and meet my friends."

Hanabi squeaked in surprise at being caught but was _very_ curious and came in before bowing properly. Hinata said warmly, "Everyone, this is my little sister Hanabi-chan." She pulled Hanabi into the chair she was sitting in so the two siblings were sitting together and Hinata happily introduced everyone to Hanabi one by one.

Blake and Pyrrha were both shocked seeing the obvious affection Hinata shared with her little sister and how she encouraged Hanabi to join the conversation. Neither of them had siblings but the concept of _Cinder Fall_ caring about anything or anyone but power was astounding to them. They both thought Hanabi was very cute as well. It was obvious that Hanabi looked up to Hinata a great deal.

"Nee-chan, I wish I could come training with you too." said Hanabi.

Hinata gave Hanabi a gentle hug. "You're just starting in the Academy Hanabi-chan. You aren't ready for real weapons training yet. You will be soon enough though."

Ino asked, "How old are you Hanabi-chan?"

"I'm seven and a half." answered the younger Hyūga sister holding up seven fingers. "I'll be eight soon though."

"Well, you'll have to work hard but you'll be graduated before you know it." said Sakura in an encouraging tone.

Blake said kindly, "I'm sure you will do well."

Hanabi beamed thinking about being a fully fledged kunoichi someday.

….

 **Training Ground 53**

After finishing their tea; Hinata led the way out to the training ground and soon spotted Naruto and Jiraiya hard at it. All the kunoichis saw Jiraiya say, "Go!" as Naruto released a multiple wind slash jutsu on his target.

….The wooden post was sliced into tiny pieces and basically exploded. Gamakichi and Naruto cheered at the destruction and Jiraiya patted the orange loving ninja on the shoulder.

Sakura's eyes widened. "What did Naruto just do…? That training post is nothing but scraps!"

Hinata saw Jiraiya wave and motion for the kunoichis to come over. Naruto looked over at them and waved excitedly before he and Gamakichi went over to examining what was left of the training post.

When the girls arrived Jiraiya said, "Welcome ladies; what brings all of you out here?"

Hinata said, "We're planning to do some training and I thought I'd ask for your advice Jiraiya-sama."

The Toad Sage nodded and was about to say something when Ino cut him off. "What the hell did you just _do_ Naruto?! What kind of a jutsu was that?" It was obvious Ino was dumbfounded by all the destruction.

Naruto looked up and said, "A jutsu that isn't good enough yet Ino. Not all of these cuts are clean enough. I'll have to work harder."

Jiraiya said, "Take a break and have some water and a snack Naruto. You're getting tense. Besides, you are doing well. After you relax for a few minutes we'll switch to the gale palm for a while."

Hinata smiled shyly and came over to Naruto. "It looks like you've been working hard Naruto-kun. That was very impressive. Was that a variation on the wind slash you were telling me about this morning?"

"Yeah, I'm finally getting a feel for it." said the orange loving ninja. He looked over at the others and gave a friendly wave before he sat down in the shade of a tree to relax.

Blake brought Pyrrha over and said, "Hello Naruto; you really pull out all the stops when you train!" The faunus girl motioned to the redhead. "Naruto, this is my good friend Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha, this is Uzumaki Naruto."

Pyrrha smiled at the blonde. "It's nice to meet you Naruto. I've heard a lot about you. That's some jutsu you were using; I'm impressed!"

Naruto smiled. "It's nice to meet you too Pyrrha. I'm still working on it. What brings all of you out here?"

 _Over with Jiraiya_ ….

"So you are Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura." said the Toad sanin. "I wouldn't mind giving you all some tips but I'm pretty committed to helping Naruto. I think Mitarashi Anko would be a great help to your group. She's a very dedicated kunoichi after all."

Both young kunoichis had a sinking feeling at that declaration….

 _Back with Naruto_ ….

"Well, there is no doubt in my mind that the Crazy Snake Lady is as tough as nails." said the orange loving blonde. "If you want to learn get someone that will really teach you instead of slacking off. My jonin sensei Kakashi is always three hours late for everything."

Blake stifled a chuckle at the comment about Kakashi. "I'm not sure Anko likes being referred to as ' _the Crazy Snake Lady_ ' Naruto." she said humorously.

Naruto just gave Blake a toothy smile. He turned to Hinata and asked, "Hinata-chan; have you girls thought about getting help from Kurenai-sensei? She seems really smart to me."

"She is a very smart and very competent kunoichi." agreed Hinata. "She's also friends with Anko-san. I hope she'll help us as well."

After the group chatted a bit Naruto got back to work and Jiraiya's shadow clone had the girls do some light sparring to see what the kunoichis could do. Jiraiya advised them to find Anko and Kurenai after they finished. He suggested a bit of group training along with him a Naruto to liven things up a bit as well.

' _A bunch of young kunoichi's nearby could be a great inspiration to my apprentice_.' thought Jiraiya with a perverse giggle. He saw that Hinata, Blake and Pyrrha were cheering Naruto on. It seemed that Ino and Sakura were in a state of denial currently…..

POSTSCRIPT:

*It never made sense to me that Hinata or _any_ Hyūga would not have seen some traces of red chakra in Naruto's system once it became unlocked at the Battle of the Bridge in Wave Country. Oh well….

Well, my original plans for Pyrrha and Naruto to meet was quite a bit more interesting but the story evolved as I wrote it. Given both of them have a mutual friend/acquaintance in Blake it turned out rather lackluster. At any rate it's a start. For those of you wondering there is going to be a lot of tension among the kunoichis. They are _tentatively_ cooperating now but that doesn't mean bad blood and grudges won't emerge. Blake and Pyrrha aren't convinced that Hinata is a 'good guy' but seeing her interaction with Hanabi has made them realize that Hinata is _not_ Cinder Fall. There are a lot of issues to be worked out….and poor Ino and Sakura have _no_ idea what they are getting into.

Next chapter we'll see the kunoichi's start training in earnest and see Sakura and Ino's attempts to convert Pyrrha and Blake to the _Sacred Faith of Sasukeism_. See you next time. Blue out. 6/3/16


	6. Chapter 6

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

We're going to take a slight departure into the terrifying place known as the _Teenage Kunoichi Fangirl Mind_ this chapter. I have to thank/blame **Lord Farsight** and **Solvdrage** as well as a **Guest Reviewer** that did not leave their name (probably to avoid blame). Here is the (mostly unplanned) chapter 6. Enjoy!

Last time:

 _"_ _Well, there is no doubt in my mind that the Crazy Snake Lady is as tough as nails." said the orange loving blonde. "If you want to learn get someone that will really teach you instead of slacking off. My jonin sensei Kakashi is always three hours late for everything."_

 _Blake stifled a chuckle at the comment about Kakashi. "I'm not sure Anko likes being referred to as '_ _the Crazy Snake Lady '_ _Naruto." she said humorously._

 _Naruto just gave Blake a toothy smile. He turned to Hinata and asked, "Hinata-chan; have you girls thought about getting help from Kurenai-sensei? She seems really smart to me."_

 _"_ _She is a very smart and very competent kunoichi." agreed Hinata. "She's also friends with Anko-san. I hope she'll help us as well."_

 _After the group chatted a bit Naruto got back to work and Jiraiya's shadow clone had the girls do some light sparring to see what the kunoichis could do. Jiraiya advised them to find Anko and Kurenai after they finished. He suggested a bit of group training along with him a Naruto to liven things up a bit as well._

 _'_ _A bunch of young kunoichi's nearby could be a great inspiration to my apprentice._ _' thought Jiraiya with a perverse giggle. He saw that Hinata, Blake and Pyrrha were cheering Naruto on. It seemed that Ino and Sakura were in a state of denial currently….._

Chapter 6

 **Konoha, Village Outer Wall**

Kinuta Dosu saw Naruto out running for his pre-dawn morning laps around Konoha. The Oto genin was carefully crafting his plans to kill Uchiha Sasuke and eliminate some other obstacles in his path. ' _That's the Uchiha's teammate. If I question him I can find out all of Sasuke's weaknesses and I can kill the Uchiha more easily. Actually this orange wearing clown is a nuisance I may kill him just to get rid of some of the competition. I'm going to kill Gaara next. He's my main obstacle against Sasuke_ ….' Dosu watched carefully as Naruto finished his third lap around Konoha and set up to ambush the blonde. The sun was just coming up and the red rays of sunlight silhouetted Naruto and hid Dosu in the shadows.

Naruto heard a creak of a familiar roof tile and slowly looked over to the chimney that Dosu was hidden behind. The blonde knew that hiding spot very well because it was a good place to hide from angry chunins back when he played pranks in the Academy. Naruto also knew the creaking noise that a particular roof tile made if you didn't know to avoid it. Naruto calmed his breathing down from running and said, "You might as well come out; I know you are hiding right behind that chimney."

Dosu was surprised to say the least and stepped out in the red sunlight where Naruto could see him. "I guess I didn't give you enough credit Uzumaki. You must have some skill to have detected me."

"What do you want Kinuta?" asked Naruto bluntly. "You don't seem like the type to socialize especially considering you could be setting up an ambush."

The Oto genin chuckled and said, "Fine; I want you to tell me your teammate Sasuke's weaknesses in detail. If you don't I'm going to beat it out of you and no one will _ever_ find the body…."

….

 **Training Ground 53**

Naruto came jogging up to Jiraiya. "Sorry I'm late Jiraiya-sensei; I got interrupted on my morning run and was able to only do three laps this morning."

Jiraiya wasn't really upset or anything but he asked, "What exactly happened Naruto?"

The orange loving blonde asked, "How many teeth are in a jawbone sensei? I can't remember off the top of my head."

"There are thirty two teeth in a human mouth Naruto." said Jiraiya looking perplexed. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, the Oto genin Kinuta Dosu from the exams tried to ambush me and wanted information on Sasuke." explained Naruto. "He said he was going to kill me afterwards you see."

Jiraiya looked over his apprentice and Naruto looked fine. "Were you injured? That's against the rules of the Chunin Exams. He could be disqualified."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm fine. I told him to leave or I'd have to hit him. I really figured he'd have the good sense to run though."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with teeth?" asked Jiraiya.

"Well, thirty-two teeth minus twenty-three leaves Kinuta with nine teeth." said Naruto doing the math in his head. "I thought he had some sort of armor under all those bandages over his face so I hit him full force with my fist coated in wind chakra right in the jaw. It was kind of messy when I found out they were just bandages. Teeth flew everywhere!"

"Is Kinuta still _alive_?" asked the wide eyed Toad Sage.

The blonde nodded. "The way he was running away screaming and crying he seemed plenty lively to me. He took off and I counted twenty-three teeth lying about. I figure he's going to make his dentist a very rich man."

Jiraiya just sweat dropped and shook his head….

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

It was early morning and Yamanaka Ino had a lot on her mind. The idea of being trained by Mitarashi Anko terrified her to the core and kept her awake through part of the night. She was very concerned about her new friends Pyrrha-chan and Blake as well. They both seemed to be falling away from the enlightened path of the _Sacred Faith of Sasukeism._ Ino couldn't help but notice they both were very enthusiastic about watching _Naruto_ of all people. Hinata had also been excited but Ino was fine with that because she didn't want to compete with the suddenly **_HOT_** Hyūga Heiress. ' _I don't know when Hinata changed into femme fatale but there is absolutely_ _ **no way**_ _I want to compete with her_.' she thought. The Yamanaka Heiress pondered both Pyrrha and Blake a bit.

' _Both of them have nice bodies and are really pretty. I can't quite figure out Blake though….'_ thought Ino. _"She seems to be a little dark and odd. Blake also always seems to have her nose stuck in some book or other. The most disturbing part is how such an attractive girl seems to be interested in Naruto. Blake seems to be pulling Pyrrha-chan down that crooked path as well. I wonder where she is from originally. That seems to be a dark, weird secret for some reason_ ….' Ino was considering asking Pyrrha-chan where she and Blake were from but then she remembered Anko none to gently telling them it was a closed subject.

Ino pondered for a few minutes before she resolved to ask Sakura. "I may know more about psychology but Forehead's super powered brain could be really useful in this situation." thought Ino aloud. "We must rescue Blake and Pyrrha-chan from going down the wrong path!"

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Blake was sitting with her black kimono on having breakfast with Anko. Her ears were prominently on display and she was thumbing her Icha Icha book lazily between bites. Anko was wearing a kimono as well and was sipping her tea quietly. It was painfully obvious that neither young woman intended to get out at all before noon. Blake's ears flicked about suddenly as if she heard something. She frowned a tiny bit.

"Something bothering you Blake-chan?" asked Anko. "Are you hearing something on another frequency that I can't?"

The feline faunus girl sipped her tea, then stopped and shook her head. "No, I'm just under the distinct impression that something **_truly stupid_** was just said about me."

"Welcome to the story of my life." said Anko in a flat tone. Deciding it wasn't worth worrying about the two kunoichis shared a mutual shrug and went back to quietly eating their breakfast.

 **Haruno Residence**

Sakura had an unexpected early visitor. The rosette had always been an early riser but _Ino_ …? "Are you _absolutely sure_ you didn't leave your brain in bed asleep at home Pig?" asked Sakura. "I mean, you being out of bed before 10 AM is the sign of an impending disaster!" Sakura peered out her window. "Well, I don't see a swarm of locusts blocking out the sun or a river of lava spewing across the town square…."

"Laugh it up Forehead." growled Ino. "I'm concerned here. It's just not natural for Pyrrha-chan and Blake to not be into the _Sacred Faith of Sasukeism_. **_All_** kunoichis our age adore him (even though he'll end up marrying **me** ) and I feel like Pyrrha-chan and Blake are getting totally shafted because they were impressed by _Naruto_. Poor Hinata is doomed to never follow the enlightened path (and I sure as hell don't want the competition from her **_now_** ) but it's not too late for Blake and Pyrrha-chan! We owe it to them as fellow kunoichis to show them the greatness that is _Sasuke-kun!_ "

Narrowing her emerald eyes, Sakura asked, "You're serious aren't you Ino-Pig?"

"I'm serious as a heart attack!" declared the blonde. "Besides, we want to be able to talk clothes and cute guys when we hang out with them. Consider this; you and I are discussing the lofty heights of Uchiha Sasuke-kun and their minds are stuck in the street gutter level of Naruto or Kiba! It's terrible!"

Sakura got a look of revulsion on her face. "Alright, point taken. But it could be difficult because Sasuke-kun isn't in the village. He's out training with Kakashi-sensei and no one knows where they are."

"What about pictures?" asked Ino. "Surely you have some in a scrapbook Forehead."

"All of my _good_ pictures are enshrined in my closet." said the rosette. "The few I have of Sasuke-kun outside of that don't show off his best features that well -not that _all_ his features aren't good. I guess there is my Team 7 photo though…." Sakura said motioning towards her nightstand.

Ino picked up the framed photo and said, "It's a good picture of Sasuke-kun but Naruto kind of ruins the shot. He looks like he ate something bad in it." ' _It also has Sakura in it ruining the shot but I won't mention that. I don't want Pyrrha-chan and Blake to get the wrong idea that Sasuke-kun is_ _ **together**_ _with Forehead or anything. That would be a huge backfire_.' thought the blonde.

"What about you Pig?" asked Sakura. "You had a lot of pictures of Sasuke-kun too. As I recall you have them sealed in your photo albums."

"Hmmm….Most of them I keep on my Sasuke-kun Altar but I'm sure I have a few duplicates in my photo albums." replied Ino.

"We'll need to see how many duplicates we have that we can share with Blake and Pyrrha." said the rosette.

Ino got a gleam in her eye. "That reminds me; where do you think Pyrrha-chan and Blake are from Forehead? Judging by their clothes Pyrrha-chan seems to dress okay but Blake dresses kind of dark and wears purple eye shadow. Where could she be from?"

"I've wondered the same thing but Anko-san said it was classified." said Sakura. Seeing Ino's pleading look the rosette added, "I guess we could research that at the ninja section library. If we found out _accidentally_ then we wouldn't be breaking any rules."

"I _knew_ I could count on you for help Forehead!" exclaimed Ino. "Let's start hunting!"

With their minds made up the two best friends/worst rivals set about gathering information and more importantly pictures of _Sasuke-kun_ ….

 **The Hyūga Compound**

Hinata bid her little sister Hanabi farewell and set out to find her sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai. ' _I need to see if Kurenai-sensei will train with us. I also need to talk to Hokage-sama so I can explain the situation with the soul merger to her. Sensei really should know. I feel bad for hiding it but some things have to be done_.' Moving along at a good pace; Hinata was soon out in front of the apartments where Kurenai lived. Using her byakugan; Hinata saw her beloved sensei was indeed home.

After heading up two flights of stairs Hinata knocked on Kurenai's door gently and the genjutsu mistress soon answered the door. "Hinata-chan, I wasn't expecting company. I'm doing a little cleaning."

Hinata smiled. "Let me help sensei. I wanted to talk to you about some extra training." Kurenai raised an eyebrow but was happy to have some help and the two got to work quickly….

….

"….So anyway Sensei, I was hoping you would be willing to help give us genin kunoichis some extra training. If you are too busy I understand though." said Hinata as she slipped some water.

Kurenai nodded in understanding and sipped some of her own water. "Well, I think I could help out. Shino is training with his clan from the Chunin Exams and Kiba is helping his big sister Hana at the Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic so the team is busy except for you and me. Besides; I could help to keep Anko from getting too overzealous." said the red eyed jonin with a wink. Hinata giggled softly and Kurenai said, "You've changed so much Hinata-chan; it's like you are a whole new person. I'm proud of you but….what exactly happened?"

The Hyūga heiress sighed softly. "I knew you would catch on sensei but I need to get Hokage-sama's permission to tell you. I'm really sorry Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai looked very perplexed and said, "The Hokage is involved?"

Hinata nodded. "Very few know and I'm sworn to secrecy. I hope you still feel you can trust me. I've changed a lot more than you realize sensei."

"Are you still the loyal Konoha kunoichi that is my disciple Hinata?" asked Kurenai as she looked directly into Hinata's eyes.

"I will always be your loyal student Kurenai-sensei." said Hinata without hesitation.

Kurenai smiled. "Then there is nothing to worry about Hinata-chan."

Hinata quickly hugged her Mother figure and whispered, "Thank you."

The red eyed jonin returned her hug and said, "Let's see about Anko and getting in some training. Where did she want to meet us; which training ground?"

"Actually she wanted us to all meet at the Dango Shop at 2 PM to have a planning session for some reason." answered Hinata.

Kurenai sweat dropped. "Of _course_ she would want to meet there…."

….

 **Training Ground 53**

Naruto and Jiraiya broke for lunch. "I sure wish Hinata-chan was training with us today Ero-sennin." said Naruto. "It's a lot more fun training together. Not to mention the great food she makes."

"You just liked having all those young and pretty kunoichis all around you yesterday." said Jiraiya with a chuckle that caused Naruto to blush. "Hopefully they'll get started on their own training soon. I know Anko-chan prefers Training Grounds 52 and 44 best."

"Why those two?" asked Naruto.

"Well, Training Ground 44 is obvious but Training Grounds 52 is like this one Naruto." explained Jiraiya. "It's great for practicing large area, destructive jutsus and summoning. She is a Snake Summoner just as you are a Toad Summoner."

Naruto looked surprised. "I thought she just _liked_ snakes. She _summons_ snakes….like Orochimaru?"

"Don't mistake Anko for being anything but a loyal kunoichi of Konaha Naruto." said Jiraiya seriously. Seeing Naruto nod, Jiraiya said, "Back when Orochimaru was still a Konoha Ninja, Anko-chan was his apprentice. When he betrayed Konoha he betrayed her as well. It's a touchy subject with her so don't bring it up. Just know she hates my former Teammate Orochimaru with a passion and wants him dead more than anybody."

The blonde ninja nodded slowly in acceptance. "What was Orochimaru like when he was still a good guy?"

Jiraiya looked thoughtful and said, "Orochimaru was a genius and a prodigy. He was the kind that only came once in a generation. He always reached to be the best no matter what he did….but looking back Orochimaru was always a little distorted. I'm not saying it was his fault really. Orochimaru was an orphan and had a sadistic streak because of losing his parents I guess. All the signs were there but I refused to see them because he was my friend and I didn't want to believe he'd gone bad. I've regretted that a lot to this very day."

Naruto said in a hollow voice, "….That sounds so much like Sasuke and me it's chilling. Ever since Sasuke got that curse mark he's acted more and more….twisted. I feel like I should talk to him but he won't listen….and Sakura-chan is in love with him so she won't listen to me either. What should I do Jiraiya-sensei?"

Jiraiya patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I'm telling you this in confidence so don't repeat it Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke is already considered a flight risk by the Hokage. Part of the reason Kakashi is training him exclusively is to keep an eye on the Uchiha in case he snaps. I know it's hard Naruto but I can't sugarcoat this for the sake of your feelings. I don't know Sasuke personally but he is showing all the signs of doing what Orochimaru did. I hope I'm wrong but you need to bear in mind that we are ninjas. He could be your enemy tomorrow. I want you to be careful around him for your sake my apprentice."

The blonde looked down sadly. "I kind of knew that already but I didn't want to believe it, -ttebayo."

Jiraiya nodded and said, "Sometimes life isn't very fair is it Naruto?"

Naruto nodded and the two sat in silence for awhile. No more words needed to be said….

….

 **Konoha Library, Ninja Section**

"Just **_look_** at the clothes from this village! They are just like what Blake wears!" whispered Ino loudly as she pointed out a particular picture to Sakura.

Sakura looked at the pictures of a ninja and a kunoichi mainly wearing black, white and purple. "Are they emos or something?" asked the rosette. "They look like their clothes a designed to block out the sun."

Ino nodded emphatically. "I know right? Blake's uniform looks like a more stylish version of these. I guess if she is from this village then Blake actually has pretty good fashion sense. It would make sense as to why she's so fair skinned though."

"Hmmm….Put a bookmark in that page Ino." said Sakura quietly. "What number is that picture?"

"It's number 105." said the blond as she put a bookmark in that page.

Sakura nodded and got out the index to _The Encyclopedia of Identifying Ninja Uniforms_. "That uniform _would_ be in the last book…." grumped the rosette. Thumbing several pages she came to the 100's. "Here we go...100, 103….105. ( _GASP_ ) It's….it's the _Village Hidden in Mascara_ from Land of Makeup! They export cosmetics but their ninjas are all…. _Goths!_ This is terrifying! Dark lipstick and eye shadow, jet black hair, pale skin, dark clothing….The list goes on. By the gods, that's where 80% of _B-Horror movies_ come from! What kind of living hell did Blake go through before she escaped?!"

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Blake growled, "There's that feeling that something **_colossally stupid_** was said about me again…."

….

 **Konoha Library, Ninja Section**

Ino could barely hold in her horror at the revelations of the _Village Hidden in Mascara_. "Poor Blake! No wonder she seems so shy and introverted. She's been socially repressed her entire life. The unfortunate girl is a refugee from a fashion nightmare!"

"That's not all. It gets worse." said Sakura grimly.

"What could be worse than that?" asked the blonde in disbelief.

Sakura closed her eyes and said, "War; that's what's worse Ino. The Land of Makeup is an island nation that has been locked in battle with a neighboring island for centuries; the Land of Fashion. The Land of Fashion has their own ninja village as well, the _Village Hidden in Trends._ They have been diametrically opposed to one another since the Era of Warring Clans."

"Do you think that Pyrrha-chan is from the Village Hidden in Trends?" asked Ino. "Friends on opposing sides that escaped together?"

"It's possible." said Sakura turning to the section on the Village Hidden in Trends. "It looks like everyone there dresses so Avant-garde that the stresses of keeping up with the latest fashions are positively soul crushing!"

Ino gasped. "….And Pyrrha-chan is fairly conservative in her style of dress! She must have been socially ostracized or been considered a rebel. The two of them must have met and escaped together!"

"No wonder Anko-san wanted this dark secret kept under wraps." said Sakura gravely.

"We have to support our fellow kunoichis!" declared Ino passionately.

" _Through the joys of Sasukeism!_ " cheered the two young kunoichis as one.

" ** _Shhhh!_** " said a librarian harshly. " _Be quiet you noisy brats! This is a_ _ **library!**_ "

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha took off her Yamanaka Flower Shop Apron and said, "I'm going to take a quick shower before I head over to the Dango Shop Ayano. If Ino and Sakura show up please tell them that I'll bet right out."

Ayano smiled. "Go ahead and wash up Pyyrha-chan. Ino-chan shot out of here in a rush this morning and ditched her shift at work. I can't thank you enough for helping."

"I don't mind; it's the least I can do for you since I'm staying with you." said the redhead. "I do have to wonder why she took off just before breakfast though."

"She's probably on another crash diet knowing her." said the Yamanaka Matriarch. "I worry about Ino-chan's eating habits. They just aren't healthy."

"Her skipping out on work and shirking her chores is just as important." said Inoichi coming into the shop in a disgruntled tone. "I'm glad you are here and take things seriously Pyrrha-chan. When you see Ino-chan tell her that she and I are going to have a _long_ talk about her responsibilities."

"Yes sir; I'll do that." said the redhead. "I'm going to go shower now."

Inoichi sighed and then smiled at Pyrrha. "Never mind Pyrrha-chan. I'll talk to Ino-chan when she gets back so don't worry about it. You all need to train without any distractions." He patted Pyrrha on the shoulder and shooed her off to shower.

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Blake and Anko had their combat gear on. "To the Dango Shop Blake-chan! Lunch awaits us!" trumpeted Anko as she led Blake out the door and locked the place up.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "I still say we should have met at that sushi place. Fish is much healthier."

Anko narrowed her eyes and said in a scheming tone of voice, "I will convert you to the Dango side Blake-chan. It is the _food of the gods!_ "

The faunus girl shook her head. "Pffft! _Tuna_ is the _food of the gods_ Anko. You just don't realize it yet."

"Nonsense my apprentice in the way of foods!" said the eccentric jonin. "Haven't you ever heard; _sweets for the sweet?_ "

"In that case we should both have vinegar for lunch Anko." said Blake in a flat tone.

Anko paused and took a thinking pose. "You have a point; allow me to rephrase: Sweets are for those with the power to take them! The gods help those that help themselves!" she declared.

"Well, I can't argue with that logic." said Blake with a soft smile.

"You should listen to your nee-chan more often Blake-chan." said Anko. "I am a fountain of knowledge."

Blake shook her head and chuckled. "Let's just go feed our faces Anko nee-chan."

Anko got a big smile and led her 'little sister' towards the Dango Shop.

 **Yamanaka Residence**

"Well, I guess I'll see you all later." said Pyrrha. "I'm off to the Dango Shop to meet the others for training. I hope Ino and Sakura show up."

Inoichi and Ayano waved goodbye as Pyrrha left. Inoichi growled, "Where the hell _is_ Ino-chan? That little girl is being even less responsible than usual."

Ayano sighed. "Well, Ino-chan _is_ a thirteen year old girl. Let's not be too harsh on her Inoichi. Still, I have to wonder where she has been all day. It's kind of worrisome."

"No doubt she's out playing in the village somewhere." said Inoichi. "She's probably running around shopping with Sakura."

"At least Ino-chan and Sakura-chan are friends again and not fighting over the Uchiha boy." said Ayano with a smile.

Inoichi nodded. "Yeah; I'd just as soon they avoid that boy. He's a very troubled young man."

 **Haruno Residence**

Two young kunoichi's dashed out of the Haruno home in a cloud of dust. "I can't believe you lost track of time Forehead!" whined Ino. "We're going to be late to the Dango Shop and Anko-san will have our hides!"

"Shut up Pig!" retorted Sakura. "You were the one that got carried away looking at my pictures of Sasuke-kun!"

"What about Pyrrha-chan? We were supposed to pick her up!" said Ino in a panicky tone.

Sakura said, "Pour on the speed Porker! Let's roof hop to your place to pick her up Pyrrha. Then we can run to the Dango Shop. We're going to be late regardless so we might as well make sure Pyrrha makes it there."

The two young kunoichis hot footed it up the side of a building and darted towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

 **The Dango Shop**

Blake and Anko arrived and saw Kurenai and Hinata already at a table big enough for all of them. Blake frowned slightly at the sight of Hinata but remembered that Hinata was _not_ Cinder Fall. ' _Old habits are hard to break_.' thought the faunus girl glumly. Looking beside Hinata she saw a beautiful woman with long black hair and red eyes. ' _Is this Hinata's sensei she mentioned?_ '

"Hey Kurenai-chan!" said Anko with a wave. "Glad you made it."

Kurenai waved back and said, "It's good to see you too Anko." She turned to Blake and smiled. "You must be Blake; I'm Yuuhi Kurenai. It's nice to make your acquaintance. Hinata-chan and I got a table but the others haven't arrived yet. Please join us."

Blake warily sat down across from Hinata and Anko plopped herself down across from Kurenai. "I'm glad you could make it Blake." said Hinata kindly. "With Kurenai-sensei and Anko training us we should get stronger quickly"

The faunus girl nodded and said, "I'm surprised no one else is here yet."

Hinata hummed in agreement. "I figure Pyrrha will be here soon unless Ino and Sakura slowed her down."

"Hello again!" chimed Pyrrha as she came in and sat down on the other side of Anko. Full introductions were soon made and Blake in particular was pleased to learn that Kurenai's specialty was genjutsu and that she was willing to help Blake out.

The five kunoichis talked about what kind of goals they had in training but soon everyone's thoughts mirrored Anko's question.

"….Where in the hell are pinkie and blondie?!"

 **Konoha Hospital, Doctor Tīsu's Oral Surgery Office**

"Hello Kinuta-san, I'm Doctor Tīsu and I'll be doing your examination today." Dosu's visible eye widened at the sight of the Doctor. His teeth were ground down like a shark's and the man had more tattoos and body piercings than anyone Dosu had ever seen. Dosu whimpered. "Now don't you worry Kinuta-san, I come from a long and distinguished line of sadis- I mean _dentists_ in Kiri. We'll have you fixed up in no time." Doctor Tīsu promptly pulled out a dental contraption that looked more like a torture device and said, "Now let's have a _really good look_ …." with a manic gleam in his eye.

Dosu's screams of the damned echoed throughout the hospital….

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Ino's blue eyes were as big as saucers staring at her Mother Ayano. "You mean Pyrrha-chan _already left_ for the Dango Shop over 45 minutes ago?!"

Ayano nodded. "Your Father and I wish to talk to you Ino-chan, about your-"

Ino and Sakura both shrieked in horror. "Oh gods Ino; Anko-san is going to murder us for being an hour late!" cried the rosette.

The two genin kunoichis ran away screaming in terror before Ayano could utter another word….

Ayano grumbled, "Really! Children these days. I swear…."

 **Training Ground 53**

Naruto and Jiraiya were working on team tactics. Shadow clones were everywhere in squads of four henged so their jumpsuit colors were different. Jiraiya and three shadow clones of his own were presenting different problems and assigning combat mission to each group. Some were to defend a territory, some were on assault. A few were to capture or assassinate a target; usually a clone of Jiraiya.

The orange loving ninja was practicing his summoning while all his clones were hard at work. He'd already summoned Gama, Gamakichi and Gamakichi's little brother Gamatatsu. Gamatatsu was very excited to be summoned but was more excited that Naruto had snacks so the little yellow-orange toad was stuffing his face happily as Naruto made an effort to summon Gamabunta, the Toad Boss.

Gamakichi said, "No Naruto, when I said Pops is big; I mean **_BIG_** like a mountain! You're going to need a lot more chakra than that."

"Whew!" said Naruto. "Here I thought I was putting a ton of chakra into it. Looks like I'll have to go full blast!"

"Full blast…?" asked Gamakichi as he and Gamatatsu were sent tumbling by a shockwave of chakra from Naruto.

Naruto slammed his bloodied palm to the ground and roared " ** _Okay! Summoning jutsu!_** "

A toad about a foot tall holding a staff appeared. He had his white hair in a short mohawk, bushy white eyebrows and a goatee. He was looking rather confused and had a look around a bit before he saw the shocked Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-chan, what's going on? Did you need to summon me for battle?"

" ** _Oh damn it!_** " said Naruto. "I was trying to summon the Toad Boss and I got this little guy!"

Jiraiya face faulted. "Naruto, shut up and show some respect! Fukasaku-sama is one of the Great Toad Sages of Mount Myōboku!" Jiraiya turned to Fukasaku and said, "I'm really sorry about this Pa, Naruto here is still learning to summon."

Naruto was sitting on his rear end looking at Fukasaku. The Toad Sage started chuckling and said, "What is your name tadpole?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, -ttebayo!" answered the orange loving ninja.

The Elder smiled and said, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Naruto-chan. If you can already summon me then you must have enormous potential. To summon Gamabunta-kun use about three fourths what you used to summon me. I'm a little higher up the food chain than Gamabunta-kun. I'll look forward to seeing more of you in the future." Tapping Naruto's head lightly with his staff, Fukasaku smiled and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Gamakichi and Gamatatsu both hopped over to congratulate Naruto. "Aniki, you are _awesome!_ " praised Gamakichi.

"I can't believe you were able to summon Pa!" said Gamatatsu.

Naruto smiled. He was worn out from summoning the Toad Elder.

Jiraiya was standing back beside Gama. ' _This kid is unbelievable! He summoned Pa without accessing Kyubi's chakra!_ ' The Toad sanin chuckled, "….Only you Uzumaki Naruto…."

….

 **The Dango Shop**

Sakura and Ino came racing into the Dango Shop looking like they'd run a marathon across the village. "Sorry we're late!" wheezed Ino as she struggled to regain her breath.

"We got caught up in things and went to get Pyrrha only to find out she already headed here." said Sakura panting. "We truly apologize for being tardy."

Kurenai gave them a flat look and said, "Have a seat ladies."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei." said Sakura as she plopped down beside the red eyed jonin. Ino sat at the end of the table between Sakura and Pyrrha.

Anko propped her chin in her hand and said, "I was beginning to wonder if you two brats had died on us or something."

Blake had a flat look on her face and sighed. ' _Fangirls are the bane of real kunoichis everywhere_.' "Well, I guess better late than never. We already ate while we waited for you."

"Well, I guess it's good for my diet." said Ino. "I don't want to get fat. A girl has to watch her figure you know." Sakura nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean, _diet?_ You are kunoichis!" said Anko indignantly.

Kurenai added, "Dieting is bad for your health girls. You are both already too skinny."

"If nothing else think about your bust size." said Hinata with amusement in her eyes. "Dieting impairs breast development. All the dieting you have done may keep you from ever reaching your potential."

"W-w-what?" asked Ino. "Don't you gals all diet?"

Sakura and Ino both looked around the table at Kurenai, Hinata, Blake, Anko and Pyrrha. "Haven't any of you ever gone on a diet to lose weight?" asked Sakura in a tiny voice.

All of the other kunoichis shook their heads and Pyrrha said, "If you want to trim off weight then burn off the calories through exercise. Dieting is a bad idea."

After comparing their smaller busts to the particularly _noticeable_ ones sported by Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake, Sakura and Ino both burst into tears wailing, " ** _NOOOOOOO!_** "

The others just had a collective sweat drop as the entire restaurant stared at the two weeping genin kunoichis….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, an unplanned chapter in the books. I have a chapter of **_Darkness Rising_** in the works I hope to finish by this weekend. It was originally my plan to expose Blake and Pyrrha to the _Faith of Sasukeism_ this chapter but we'll finish that mini arc next chapter since I ran out of room. Also, who would have ever guessed that Blake was a kunoichi refugee from the _Village Hidden in Mascara_? What a revelation! There will be even more ' _shocking_ ' revelations next chapter as the defenders of the _Faith of Sasukeism_ reach out to ' _save_ ' Blake and Pyrrha from the evil temptations of the orange fiend. Blue out. 6/8/16


	7. Chapter 7

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Thanks to everyone for their continued reviews and support. Well, I'm 5k into the next chapter of **_Darkness Rising_** but I got distracted by this story (again). Blame RWBY Chibi for inspiring me. This chapter is titled _Target: Jinchūriki_. Here is the (unplanned) chapter 7. Enjoy!

Last time:

 _"_ _What do you mean,_ _diet_ _? You are kunoichis!" said Anko indignantly._

 _Kurenai added, "Dieting is bad for your health girls. You are both already too skinny."_

 _"_ _If nothing else think about your bust size." said Hinata with amusement in her eyes. "Dieting impairs breast development. All the dieting you have done may keep you from ever reaching your potential."_

 _"_ _W-w-what?" asked Ino. "Don't you gals all diet?"_

 _Sakura and Ino both looked around the table at Kurenai, Hinata, Blake, Anko and Pyrrha. "Haven't any of you ever gone on a diet to lose weight?" asked Sakura in a tiny voice._

 _All of the other kunoichis shook their heads and Pyrrha said, "If you want to trim off weight then burn off the calories through exercise. Dieting is a bad idea."_

 _After comparing their smaller busts to the particularly_ _noticeable_ _ones sported by Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake, Sakura and Ino both burst into tears wailing, "_ _ **NOOOOOOO!**_ _"_

 _The others just had a collective sweat drop as the entire restaurant stared at the two weeping genin kunoichis…._

Chapter 7

 **Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto was exhausted after summoning Fukasaku and he and Jiraiya agreed he should get some rest. After getting home Naruto was too tired to fix much for dinner and just had some cereal and milk. After that he took a quick shower, put on his _Built for Speed_ tee shirt and some orange sweatpants and went to bed early.

….

After dark Naruto awoke to an odd sound he didn't recognize. Noticing it was coming from his front entryway room the blonde ninja strapped on his kunai pouch, grabbed his shuriken and silently slipped out in the hallway. He cried out in pain when something hit his shoulder and nearly severed his right arm off in the low light. He was flung backwards by the impact of the object as it tore off flesh and muscle alike. The blonde boy crashed through the door to his hamper and then fell face first onto the floor as his body hemorrhaged out his life's essence in silence….in the wall of the hamper was a golden arrow that seemed as if it was hardened from some sort of liquid.

"Hmmph….sending me after someone of such low level. This wasn't even fun." said a black haired young man with a bow that emerged from the shadows. He was tanned and wore an Oto forehead protector. The most interesting thing about him was he had _six arms_. His name was Kidōmaru and he was a member of the Sound Four which were among the elites of Orochimaru's forces. His task: Eliminate Konoha's jinchūriki ' _just in case_.'

Kidōmaru shook his head as he put his bow away. "What a waste of time for someone of my skill level. I didn't even get to toy with him. He was dead before he hit the floor. I guess I should report in that my mission is accomplished." He looked back at Naruto and said, "Too bad loser." and turned to leave. Then the spider like ninja then felt something heavy in the air. _Something that was making it difficult to breathe_. He turned back around to the fallen blonde and felt it. There was a repeating sound that reverberated in the air…. _Like a pulse_. Kidōmaru suddenly felt an overwhelming presence rush forth as a torrent of red chakra poured from Naruto's massive wound and began to swirl around him like a miniature whirlwind. The red miasma continued to pulse louder and louder and Kidōmaru's eyes got wider and wider as the thundering of the pulse shook his body and caused his ears to hurt.

Yelling out over the infernal pulsing noise Kidōmaru bellowed, " _What the hell_ _ **is**_ _this?!_ "

Naruto's eyes opened in the darkness. Instead of the mischievous blue that normally sparkled they were slitted and glowing blood red with pure malice. Kidōmaru watched in macabre fascination as Naruto's shoulder reformed. Bones set, muscles and tendons repaired themselves and blood vessels formed seemingly out of nothing. The Oto ninja was so transfixed on all the gore coming back together that he wasn't prepared when the red eyed blonde rushed towards him at incredible speed with red, corrosive chakra claws that sliced through his flesh like a hot knife through butter. Kidōmaru's scream rang throughout the apartment complex Naruto lived in. The spider like ninja had instinctively blocked with his three left arms and lost a left hand, a left forearm and another left arm down to the elbow. Naruto didn't stop there either. Even the layers of sticky web that Kidōmaru shot out in defense were corroded away in an instant. _'I have to escape this monster!_ ' was the only coherent thought besides the agony of having his limbs severed in the Oto ninja's mind.

The pulsing noise in the air was deafening as Kidōmaru ran out into the night to escape the out of control beast….

….Unfortunately for Kidōmaru; Naruto was _not_ an out of control beast. He was very much focused and in control….and he was **angry**. ' _That six armed freak's head is_ _ **mine!**_ ' thought the blonde as he shot off into the night in pursuit of the Oto predator turned prey….

….

 **Naruto's Apartment Complex**

The ANBU were on the move. The noises of someone screaming in Uzumaki Naruto's Apartment had been heard and reported. When ANBU Cat and her Team arrived the air was thick with the stench of blood. The front door was left hanging wide open and trails of blood lead back into the apartment. Entering in a textbook sweep the ANBU quickly secured the room. The hallway was a gore fest. There was a strange golden arrow in the hamper wall and a pool of blood where someone had been lying. Judging by the heavy chakra saturation Cat deduced it had been Naruto though for the life of her she couldn't imagine why the blonde haired boy would still be alive.

They also found three left arms severed in various places that were more or less identical. "They look like they were all cut in one slice and fell to the floor Cat." said ANBU Dove. "They also look as if they all came from the same person."

"How is that possible?" asked ANBU Wolf.

ANBU Dove shrugged. "I haven't a clue unless a set of triplets wedged their way into the hall and held their hands out as a group to be sliced off. It doesn't make any sense."

ANBU Bear called from the front room, "The slash marks out here are laced with Kyubi's chakra. Following the blood trail the boy was badly injured, got up using the bijuu's power and attacked. He must have chased his assailant out into the village. He may be berserk."

"He may be dead from the amount of blood involved." said Wolf grimly. "Hokage-sama isn't going to be happy."

"Regardless our job is to find Uzumaki and get him medical help." said Cat authoritatively. "Give me a minute here. I'll try to sense where he is." Stepping outside and away from Kyubi's overwhelming chakra in the apartment; Cat reached out using her sensory ninjutsu. After a couple of minutes she said, "What the hell? There are over a dozen sources of Kyubi's chakra on the move! They are headed towards the red light district. Wolf, follow the blood trail. It may be more reliable. Bear, secure the apartment and follow us when you are done. Dove, you are with me. I'm going to lock in on the nearest chakra source. Hopefully that will be our boy. Move out team!"

….

 **Red Light District**

Kidōmaru was breathing heavily as he wrapped up the bleeding stumps of his three left arms. The jinchūriki had grazed his chest as well and those spots were also burning and bleeding as the corrosive chakra ate away at him like an acid. The Sound nin no longer thought of his target as a teenage boy. This wasn't even a hunt anymore. He felt he was dealing with something _far_ worse. Naruto had been silently stalking the injured spider ninja for nearly forty-five minutes. Every time Kidōmaru thought he'd found a secure place to hide the demonic blonde would appear out of nowhere to take another piece of flesh off. ' _What am I going to do?! I'm hiding in the oldest and dirtiest part of town I can find. The smells and the debris here make good camouflage._ _ **Why can't I shake him?!**_ '

As a result of the spider like ninja losing his three left hands; he couldn't use his full arsenal of jutsus because he could no longer make the left half of his hand signs. ' _I'd normally have summoned Kyodaigumo to cover my escape and my sticky gold armor is useless against that red chakra. I had to shed it to increase my speed. If I can't lose him I'll have to fight him. I hope my cursed seal will be enough to level me up_.'

While the frightened member of the Sound Four hid in an alley below, Naruto was on the rooftops above looking down at his prey. ' _That fool. He thinks he can lose me on my home turf. I know this village like the back of my hand and I know_ _ **every**_ _place to hide on the rotten side of town. Time to go again_.'

Kidōmaru barely had time to dodge when Naruto came down on top of him like a bat out of hell. The spider like nin had already concluded that his time was running out and decided to take the offensive. He activated his level two cursed seal and took on a truly monstrous form that had sharpened teeth and even horns. Kidōmaru unleashed a roar and fired a volley of arrows into Naruto at point blank range. The blonde took a hit to the heart, one in the head and others riddled his body at point blank range. There was no doubt in Kidōmaru's brain that he'd slain the monster. Panting heavily the spider like nin soon broke out into hysterical laughter at his victory. " _Hahahaha!_ He wasn't at my level after all! _I am victori_ -"

The Oto ninja didn't have time to blink when the Naruto in front of him burst into smoke. Kidōmaru soon felt a twinge in his neck and an odd feeling of weightlessness as his vision spun. Kidōmaru realized he was tumbling end over end and he finally rolled to a stop. ' _What the hell happened? Why can't I move?!_ ' thought Kidōmaru as he struggled to get some motion in his body. ' _Am I paralyzed?_ ' He looked up and saw Naruto towering over him _without_ the red chakra glowing about him. Naruto just looked like an exhausted kid covered in blood.

The spider like ninja tried to say something but no sound came out. He tried to yell but Naruto cut him off. The blonde said in a haggard voice, "You've been playing cat and mouse with my shadow clones for almost an hour. I don't know what the hell you are or were but it doesn't matter. Without a head your body's no threat to anyone. Once I got you psyched out and tired all it took was a basic wind slash to decapitate you. I've been watching and waiting for the right time to strike all this time."

Kidōmaru's eyelids blinked and his eyes filled with terror as he realized he was just a decapitated head lying on the ground. He realized he'd died in a simple ambush. No glory, no brilliant strategies. He was killed in an almost amateur way. Amidst it all the Oto nin wanted to cry out " ** _Why?!_** " as the life left his eyes. Kidōmaru of the elite Sound Four was dead and gone. His empty eyes stared into nothingness….

After Naruto saw his foe was dead he flared his chakra in the pattern Jiraiya had taught him to summon ANBU. The orange loving ninja was exhausted and the realization he'd just killed someone caught up with him. Nearly tripping over Kidōmaru's headless, still twitching body Naruto ran over to the nearest garbage can in the alley and violently threw up for what seemed like hours to him. Coughing and sweating he saw several ANBU arrive. ANBU Dove came over and said to him sympathetically, "First kill Uzumaki?" Naruto nodded before he finally passed out from fatigue.

Naruto's last thoughts before he passed out were, ' _What an awful night_ ….'

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Hinata awoke early and packed a picnic lunch for everybody. She had especially made Naruto shaped onigiri for the object of her affections. The kunoichis were all supposed to meet at 8 AM at training ground 52. Hinata was hoping to stop by Training Ground 53 as well before she joined the others but Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-sama weren't there. ' _I was hoping to see Naruto-kun this morning but it looks like he is training elsewhere today. Maybe he'll show up around lunch time_.' She soon saw Kurenai, Anko and Blake arrive and waved to them. "Good morning everybody!" said the Hyūga Heiress.

Kurenai greeted her student warmly. "Good morning Hinata-chan; what's in the basket?"

"I brought lunch for everybody." explained Hinata. "Training is hungry work. We may have to force Ino and Sakura off of their diets though."

Anko chuckled. "Well those girls will learn fast or keel over; whichever come first. A body needs fuel. Did you bring dango?" she asked with a slight drool.

Blake said in a flat tone, "A kunoichi cannot live on dango alone Anko nee-chan."

"I am living proof otherwise Blake-chan." answered Anko haughtily.

"Ummm….Sorry I don't know any really good dango recipes." said Hinata apologetically.

Anko's eyes got huge and she cried "OH, THE HUMANITY!"

….

About a half hour later Pyrrha arrived practically dragging Ino and Sakura. "Hello everybody! I had to take a little extra time to motivate Sakura and Ino. They wanted to sleep in."

Blake put her hand on her forehead as if she was warding off the worst migraine in history and muttered "…. _Fangirls_ …." under her breath. Anko snickered.

Kurenai (being the more responsible one) said, "Alright ladies, now that we are all here we'll warm up with fifty laps around the training grounds. If you slow down behind your teammates too much then Anko will _motivate_ you to speed up."

Blake and Hinata moved from their positions near the center to the outer edge with Pyrrha, Ino and Sakura. After everyone got in the ready position, Anko pulled a handful of kunai knives and said "Ready, set, _show me what you've got!_ " as she darted the kunai at the five genins and forced them to run to avoid impalement.

….

 **Konoha Hospital**

Naruto woke up in the mid morning feeling worn and tired. His body felt a bit strained but overall there was no longer any pain in his shoulder. He felt he was heavily bandaged though. "I see you are awake Naruto." said Jiraiya's voice from his left. "I wasn't expecting you to come around so quickly."

The blonde tiredly turned his head to face his sensei. "How long was I out Jiraiya-sensei?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "You passed out from fatigue around 1 AM last night and it's 11 AM now. Ten hours is a pretty amazing recovery time considering you should be dead and all."

"Do you know who it was that attacked me?" asked Naruto wearily.

Jiraiya shrugged. "We're trying to figure that out. He was wearing and Oto uniform and had some spider like features. Chakra webbing; multiple arms….it could be a bloodline we've never heard of or one of Orochimaru's experiments. The people doing the autopsy are still trying to figure out the mess. I need to ask you something Naruto and I need you to be completely honest with both yourself and I. You used a _massive_ amount of Kyubi's chakra to stay alive. Do you feel like you lost control of yourself in rage?"

Naruto pondered for a couple of minutes. "I was angry but all I was focused on was killing that Oto ninja before he could kill me. Once my body felt healed I channeled Kyubi's chakra into twenty shadow clones and sent them out to hunt. When the chakra left my body I felt tired and quietly followed my clones until I could ambush him. They wore him out and got him panicked so I could finish him off."

"It seems all that training in team tactics was a real plus." said Jiraiya. "Do you have any idea how many tails of power you were using?"

"It was two sensei." said Naruto with a yawn. "Each of my clones had two." Naruto got choked up. "I….I had to kill someone Jiraiya-sensei…."

Jiraiya put a reassuring hand on Naruto's good shoulder. "Killing is never easy Naruto. Don't bottle it up. Just let all the pain out of your system."

Naruto cried quietly while Jiraiya talked him through it. It was hard but in the end Naruto felt better before he dozed back off. He was worn out both emotionally and physically and the best answer was rest….

….

 **Training Ground 52**

" _Oh god this is living hell_ …." croaked Ino as she collapsed onto the ground. She'd just finished her fiftieth lap.

"Way to go blondie!" said Anko with false enthusiasm. "It was a tough fight but you managed to win the battle for _last place_ with pinkie!"

Sakura was laying face first on the ground about twenty feet ahead of Ino. " _I….can't….go….on_ …." muttered the rosette pitifully.

Hinata was sitting in a meditative position and said, "What have Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei been teaching you two? Don't they have you do regular exercise?"

"I'm rather curious myself." said Kurenai in a disappointed tone. "You two are exhausted and that was just a warm up. The other three have been done for forty-five minutes and they were pacing themselves; not racing flat out."

"Kakashi-sensei had us do team building exercises between Sasuke-kun, Naruto-baka and I." said Sakura weakly.

Hinata growled at the ' _baka_ ' part and Blake said, "Naruto seems like he's doing a lot better than you Sakura. He doesn't seem like a baka at all."

Pyrrha nodded, "What do you have against Naruto-san? He seems very friendly and has an admirable work ethic that is commendable."

"You don't know him like we do." said Ino defensively. "He causes trouble for Sasuke-kun."

"We're getting off track here." said Kurenai. "What is it that Asuma has your team do Ino?"

Ino slowly sat up. "Well, we practice our family jutsus a lot and he plays shogi with Shikamaru."

Pyrrha couldn't hide the shock on her face and said, "But what about _you_ Ino?"

"I'm not a big fan of shogi so I don't play." said Ino matter-of-factly.

Everyone but Sakura face faulted at Ino's statement. Anko said, "You _#$%^ &!_ little _$%^ &*(+s! _ You call yourselves _kunoichi's?!_ "

"I don't even know what those words mean…." whispered Pyrrha to Blake and Hinata.

Hinata said, "Those are new to me as well. I have this feeling they shouldn't be repeated in mixed company."

Blake sweat dropped and whispered, "Trust me, you don't want to know…." as Anko read the riot act to the quivering Ino and Sakura.

….

 **Konoha Hospital**

A doctor was reading off Naruto's diagnosis. "Well Uzumaki-san, due to your unique status your body drew off all the fat reserves and anywhere else to regenerate your damaged tissues and your body slimmed a bit as a result. You are going to need to eat _a lot_ before your body is fully back to normal. On the positive side your musculature inadvertently grew due to those same factors and you are a perfect example of lean muscle. The uniqueness of your metabolism saved your life. There isn't even a scar from what should have been a fatal wound. You are a very fortunate young man."

Naruto wanted to say something sarcastic about how ' _fortunate_ ' he was but Jiraiya intervened. "So do you have a diet plan for my apprentice? I don't want him to go straight back into training and injure himself."

The doctor looked perplexed for a few moments. "You are in the Chunin Exam Finals aren't you Uzumaki-san?"

"Yes; and I still want to compete, -ttebayo!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Well, getting you on a diet and putting you on the appropriate supplements to give your body the right building blocks it needs isn't an issue." said the doctor. "Strenuous exercise it out of the question though. You shinobis always push yourselves too far too fast and end up injuring yourselves worse than you were to begin with. Eat right and do only light exercise this next week. After that I going to turn your case over to an experienced medic nin that can gauge _exactly_ what your body can take. On a personal note I think the idea of you fully recovering and competing in the Chunin Exams in a mere three weeks is ludicrous but doctor's opinions rarely sway you ninjas from trying to kill yourselves. I'll get you on an appropriate diet and get you on your way Uzumaki-san."

After the doctor excused himself Naruto turned to Jiraiya. "What are we going to do Ero-sennin? A week of light exercise is a week wasted….Hell, my jumpsuit looks like a tent on me I'm so skinny. I wonder if Choji could lend me a few pounds…."

Jira scratched his chin and then smiled. "Naruto, the doctor was referring to _physical_ exercise, not _mental_ exercise. Do you know anything about fuinjutsu…?"

"Fuinjutsu? What's that sensei?" asked the confused blonde.

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Hinata was smiling as Blake shot at her in a spar. The faunus girl wasn't holding back at all and between her multi elemental clone types and genjutsus Hinata was on the defensive. Hinata could see though the genjutsus but that didn't help when an earth or water clone was trying to wreck her. The Hyūga Heiress barely deflected the blade from Blake's kusarigama and she shot several bolts of fire using her new style of juken back at her cat eared foe. Blake quickly deflected the shots with her katana and her armored sheath -only to find Hinata on top of her raining juken strikes down like lightning. The two girls hit the ground still exchanging a furious flurry of blows. Both realizing they were at an impasse the two genin kunoichis jumped back to renew their assault on one another….

" _FREEZE!_ " yelled Kurenai. "This spar is a draw. Bow to your opponent and make the sign of reconciliation." Both Blake and Hinata were drenched in sweat and bowed.

Hinata said quietly to Blake as they bowed, "You are amazing. With your Gambol Shroud you could be even more lethal."

"What do you mean?" asked the amber eyed girl.

Hinata simply said, "I will talk to both you and Pyrrha later about weapons."

Both kunoichis rose from their bow and said, " _Thank you for the spar_."

Pyrrha was already sitting down from her spar with Anko earlier and said, "That was a really good spar you two. Full contact sparring is a much better way to gauge your true abilities!"

Sakura and Ino were staring dumbfounded at Pyrrha, Blake and Hinata. They expected Anko and Kurenai to be out of their reach but those two were _jonins_.

Ino whispered to Sakura, "Hinata was so meek and shy at the Academy and never did well in spars. She lost at the Chunin Exam Preliminaries; I always felt like she wasn't as strong as you or I forehead. What the hell happened?!"

"Don't ask me; I'm busy fearing for my life here Porker." replied Sakura in a low tone. "Hinata, Blake and Pyrrha are _way_ beyond or level. We're really going to have to train our butts off to even get _close_ to their strength or skills."

"I'm beginning to think I got shafted with Asuma-sensei." said Ino glumly

Sakura slowly nodded. "I get the same feeling with Kakashi sensei."

Kurenai was talking to Hinata and Blake. "That was a superb display girls." said the red eyed jonin. "I'm embarrassed to say it but I completely underestimated both of you and Pyrrha as well. Your clone techniques are fascinating Blake. I've never seen anyone use different types of clones so effectively. Hinata; I know you explained your Fire Style Juken to me but seeing it in action is another thing entirely. I'm very impressed with both of you."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei, it means a lot to me." said Hinata. She activated her byakugan and saw Training ground 53 was still empty. ' _I'll have to go by Naruto-kun's apartment and see how he is doing. I've missed him today_.'

Pyrrha said, "Is Naruto-san at his training ground? We should ask him and Jiraiya-sama to join us for lunch."

Hinata shook her head and said, "They haven't been there all morning. I brought enough food for them as well."

Anko said, "Well, now that we've cooled down a bit let's have some lunch in the shade of a tree." Everyone was getting hungry and readily agreed.

….

 **Hokage's Office**

Sarutobi Hiruzen was less than thrilled reading the coroner's autopsy report on the six armed Oto ninja. ' _It's obvious he was sent specifically to eliminate Naruto but the question is why? One possibility is to eliminate contestants in the Chunin Exams. Another would be to eliminate the threat of Kyubi. There is also the possibility that this was revenge for Naruto busting up Kinuta Dosu in self defense. I'm putting an ANBU detail on watching our Chunin Exam contestants. Someone could have specifically wanted Naruto and that will be the end of it but better safe than sorry_.' The Hokage lit his pipe. ' _Damn it all Orochimaru. Not killing you when I had the chance was my biggest failure. Now you're planning to invade while our doors are wide open for the Chunin Exams. You're going to find we are_ _ **far**_ _better prepared than you'd ever expect us to be_.'

Hiruzen went back to his reports and read up on Naruto's condition. He'd checked on his surrogate grandson this morning while Naruto slept but from the reports and the debriefings Naruto had checked out of the Hospital and turned in his after action report. From Jiraiya's information Naruto tentatively could control two tails of Kyubi's power without detrimental effects except for exhaustion. Truthfully the Third Hokage never wanted Naruto to have to use Kyubi's power but given the boy's life so far it seemed that it was inevitable. ' _Minato-kun, Kushina-chan; Naruto is growing stronger every day. He truly is your son_.'

….

 **Training ground 52**

Everyone was sitting down eating the _major_ lunch that Hinata packed. Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle. "These onigiri are so cute. They look just like Naruto-san! I kind of hate to eat something so decorative."

"Well they certainly _taste_ good!" said Anko. "Hinata, where did you get this stuff made? Everything is delicious!" said the snake mistress between mouthfuls.

"Well I….I made it all myself." answered Hinata shyly. "I like to cook for my friends." ' _I was hoping Naruto-kun would be here_ ….'

"You fixed all this Hinata?" asked Sakura, "That's amazing!"

"Too true Forehead." said Ino. "If you ever decide not to be a kunoichi you could be a five star chef!"

Kurenai was happily munching on her meal. She smiled and said, "Hinata-chan keeps Team 8 good and spoiled with her cooking."

Blake was too busy stuffing her face with copious amounts of tuna nigirizushi to really comment but it was painfully obvious she was quite pleased from the happy sounds she was making.

….

 **Akimichi Barbeque Restaurant**

Choji was sitting with Naruto as the blonde inhaled his own weight of some specially prepared food. "I just can't help myself Choji; I'm absolutely starving!" said Naruto between bites.

"I know the feeling Naruto." said Choji kindly. "We Akimichi's always have to be careful with our weight because the body expansion jutsus burn so many calories."

Naruto nodded repeatedly. "Well if anybody calls you or any members of your clan the F( _at_ ) word again; you let me know and I'll punch their lights out."

Jiraiya was over talking with Choji's Father, Akimichi Choza. "You don't know how much Naruto and I appreciate you helping with Naruto's special diet. I knew if anyone would know how to prepare this kind of food and make it good; it would be the Akimichi Clan."

"No worries Jiraiya-sama." said Choza jovially. "That poor kid looked like he'd used an Akimichi food pill he was so skinny. We couldn't leave him in that shape. Besides, he's a good friend of Choji and Shikamaru. Looks like he's finished off another plateful. Let's see how Naruto is doing."

Jiraiya looked at his wallet and then at Naruto. ' _It's the least I can do for the kid. We're just going to hang the expense for now_.' Jiraiya smiled as Naruto let out a colossal belch that drew polite applause from the Akimichis present.

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Hyūga Tokuma was watching the Hyūga Heiress spar with her friends at the behest of the Hyūga Elders. He had the longest range of vision in the entire Hyūga Clan so he could observe Hinata-sama theoretically without being seen by her even with her byakugan activated. His job was fairly simple; the Elders wanted to know about the new _Fire Juken_ Hinata-sama apparently invented out of the blue. Tokuma was then going to give an appraisal. Unfortunately he had no idea what ' _Fire Juken_ ' encompassed so he decided just to do his best.

 _Flashback…._

 _Tokuma watched as Ino and Sakura sparred before Yuuhi Kurenai separated them and instructed them on proper methods of punching and kicking. She soon set about watching them practice on training posts. In the meantime Anko was sparring with Blake and Tokuma could hardly believe Blake was a genin. Given Mitarashi's skill level; the fact Blake was keeping up with Anko alone was enough to shock the Hyūga Special Jonin. It was then he saw Hinata-sama and Pyrrha Nikos enter the field…._

 _Pyrrha had a tsurugi and an odd disc shaped shield that she wielded with the practiced ease of a highly experienced kunoichi. Hinata took her_ _ **Fire Juken**_ _stance and her hands and eyes ignited with flame chakra. The two young kunoichis shot at each other and started trading blows rapidly. Pyrrha ducked low and held her shield above her as Hinata acrobatically went airborne to land a strike from above. The Heiress bounced off the shield due Pyrrha's sheer physical strength. Hinata quickly flipped backwards only for Pyrrha to launch a volley of kunai knives at her. Hinata shielded her hands with flames and effortlessly deflected the projectiles._

 _Taking the offensive Hinata fired off several small bursts of fire chakra that Pyrrha likewise easily deflected with her shield. Hinata charged and slid under her opponent for a foot sweep. Pyrrha did and aerial cartwheel over Hinata and completely evaded the takedown strike. They both recovered from their moves facing each other and started circling one another. Hinata suddenly lashed out with a firestorm as Pyrrha created a magnetic shield that couldn't be breached. The two girls impacted each other and were both knocked off of their feet from the power of the collision. Tokuma was completely and utterly shocked as Kurenai called the spar…._

 _Both girls were dizzied but managed to get up and bow to one another and make the hand sign of reconciliation._

 _Flashback End…._

….

"And that is what I saw Honored Elders." said Tokuma. "Given the power Hinata-sama displayed I'm not sure what level she is at. With the possible exception of endurance she seems like a solid jonin. The sheer offensive power she has with her flames could literally roast most opponents alive without heavy protection such as a kaitan or the like. I have never seen nor heard of flame manipulation on that level without some sort of bloodline involved. I am speechless at what I saw. It truly has to be seen to be believed."

The Head Elder nodded and said, "Thank you for your diligent work Tokuma. We will take this under advisement."

….

 **Jiraiya's Apartment**

"This is my old place Naruto." said Jiraiya. "I only use it once in a while so as far as I'm concerned the place and everything in it is yours. Just take care of the utility bills; I own it so there is no rent."

Naruto's eyes got big and watery. "Ero-sennin, the front room alone is bigger than my entire old apartment! Are you sure you can afford this?"

"Sure I'm sure." chuckled Jiraiya. "The place is yours. Your old apartment is compromised and this is a ninja only apartment building so you'll be safe."

Jiraiya suddenly found himself enveloped in a hug from Naruto who was quietly sniffling as he repeatedly said, " _Thank you_."

Jiraiya ruffled the blonde's hair and let Naruto calm down before he said, "It's really no problem Naruto; I've got a more luxurious one I take the ladies home to." _Naruto immediately face faulted_. Laughing and seeing Naruto was back to normal (even if he was under weight); Jiraiya snapped his fingers and made a shadow clone. "Speaking of ladies, we need to inform your girlfriends that you've moved."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

It had been a long day of training and Ino and Sakura basically had to be carried by Kurenai and Anko back to their respective homes. The blonde and the rosette were so tired they hadn't even brought up _Sasukeism_ ….that is _really_ tired.

Blake, Pyrrha and Hinata finished picking up all the scattered weapons and straitened up the training grounds as Kurenai had told them to. Hinata asked the other two girls to stay a minute before they parted ways. The three were sitting in the shade of the trees and Pyrrha asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Hinata answered, "Your weapons." Seeing both girls raised their eyebrow Hinata continued. "The Miló and Akoúo̱ Pyrrha used and Gambol Shroud Blake used are well within the technology we have right here in Konoha." said Hinata to Blake and Pyrrha. "You wouldn't have the gun forms but if they were made of chakra metal it would mean there is no longer a requirement for dust cartridges. I already have a pair of short swords being crafted for me that are equivalent to what Cinder Fall used on Infiltration missions. What do you say?"

"I say such custom made items would cost a fortune." said Blake. "As I understand it chakra metal is rare as hen's teeth."

Pyrrha said, "I'm curious as to why you would bring up the subject to begin with Hinata."

"Things that happened in the past….in our previous lives….I don't know if we will ever be friends but I'd like to make it up to both of you in a small way." explained Hinata. "I thought I would gift you with new weapons to protect yourselves. I have the resources and much more knowledge of Konoha than you do. It would be my gift to both of you as a way of apology. I'm not who I was but I'd like to make amends somehow. Maybe it is a naïve idea on my part."

Both the redhead and the faunus girl were a bit shocked. "You'd just….give us custom weapons for free?" asked Blake.

The Hyūga Heiress nodded. "I would really like to become friends some day. There are challenges in the future we may have to face together. I'd like to do that as friends and comrades instead of strangers."

Pyrrha looked slightly pleased but Blake looked hesitant.

"It doesn't have to be right away." said Hinata. "I-we have company."

The conversation would have continued but Jiraiya's shadow clone arrived. "Good evening ladies; I hope you had a productive day. Naruto and I had a situation to deal with and couldn't come."

"What kind of a situation Jiraiya-sama?" asked Hinata.

Blake asked, "Is anything wrong?"

"I'd be glad to help if you need." said Pyrrha.

"Funny you should ask." said Jiraiya's clone. "I bet Naruto would like to see you three at his _new apartment_."

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, that's a good stopping point. I know everyone wanted to see Blake and Pyrrha converted into full blooded Susukeoids. (Or would it be Sasukeites?) The mysteries of the _Village Hidden in Mascara_ remain unsolved as well. Regardless I decided to advance the plot instead. Naruto has had a major setback and one of the Sound Four is dead. Those events _might_ just have some repercussions later. Hinata is attempting to build bridges between herself, Blake and Pyrrha. How will that work out? The Hyūga Council is sticking their noses into places that might get them burnt off….And poor Kurenai is trying to wrap her head around Ino and Sakura's _total lack_ of training and motivation. Lastly, Anko is searching frantically for dango recipes for Hinata to fix for her. See you next time. Blue out. 6/11/16


	8. Chapter 8

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Here we go! Special thanks goes out to **Solvdrage** for his input on this chapter. I was on a roll and chapter 8 came out way ahead of schedule. Maybe _now_ I can get to some of my other stories as this one has been monopolizing my time. Enjoy!

Last time:

 _The Hyūga Heiress nodded. "I would really like to become friends some day. There are challenges in the future we may have to face together. I'd like to do that as friends and comrades instead of strangers."_

 _Pyrrha looked slightly pleased but Blake looked hesitant._

 _"_ _It doesn't have to be right away." said Hinata. "I-we have company."_

 _The conversation would have continued but Jiraiya's shadow clone arrived. "Good evening ladies; I hope you had a productive day. Naruto and I had a situation to deal with and couldn't come."_

 _"_ _What kind of a situation Jiraiya-sama?" asked Hinata._

 _Blake asked, "Is anything wrong?"_

 _"_ _I'd be glad to help if you need." said Pyrrha._

 _"_ _Funny you should ask." said Jiraiya's clone. "I bet Naruto would like to see you three at his_ _new_ _apartment."_

Chapter 8

 **Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto's** ** _New_** **Apartment**

Naruto was fidgeting as he practiced his hand sign speed. There were lots of small motor skills he could work on such as kunai balancing and so forth but what he really wanted to do was go out to the training grounds and seriously tear things up. Of course he was too exhausted to do so….it was just the principle of the thing. At any rate he promised Jiraiya to follow the overcautious doctor's orders and behave….for now anyway. Jiraiya had gone out to get Naruto another high calorie meal from the Akimichi restaurant so Naruto was alone. He heard a knock on his front door and immediately drew a kunai. Creating a shadow clone to open the door he saw Hinata, Blake, and Pyrrha standing there. They all looked like they'd had a long day of training but Naruto was very happy to have the company. Naruto smiled and said, "Hi girls! How did you find my new place? I just got here a few hours ago."

Hinata looked at Naruto's malnourished appearance and gasped. "Naruto-kun, what happened to you? You look so underweight!"

Pyrrha also looked a bit shocked. "Jiraiya-sama said something happened but…." said Pyrrha.

Blake's amber eyes widened with alarm. "Naruto, are you okay? Should you be up and around? Maybe you should be lying down."

"It's not as bad as it looks girls…!" said Naruto as the three young women grabbed him and took him over to sit on his couch. Finding himself surrounded by concerned kunoichis; Naruto said, "I'm really okay!"

All three girls narrowed their eyes and said, " _No, you are_ _ **not**_ _okay Uzumaki Naruto!_ " Blake was on his left on the couch and Pyrrha was on his right. Hinata sat in the seiza position in front of him to block any escape.

"Tell us what happened to you Naruto-kun." said Hinata using the dreaded puppy eye no jutsu. "We were very worried when Jiraiya-sama said a problem had arisen."

Pyrrha nodded, "That's right Naruto; we missed you at lunch and wondered where you were."

"Jiraiya-sama should have told us immediately and we would have come to see you Naruto." said Blake in a concerned tone.

" _Now tell us what happened Naruto/Naruto-kun!_ " demanded the three kunoichis.

' _Yikes!_ ' thought the blonde prankster.

….

"So let me get this straight Naruto-kun." said Hinata. "A ninja broke into your old apartment last night and _nearly_ _ **killed**_ _you_ with by putting an **_arrow_** _through your shoulder_ and now you are ' ** _fine_**.' Why does something not add up here?"

Naruto was perspiring heavily under the triple interrogation from the girls. "You know I've always healed fast Hinata-chan." said Naruto with a weak smile.

Blake frowned. "Maybe we should strip him and check him for injuries."

Naruto's blue eyes bulged. " _W-W-WWHHAATT?_ "

Pyrrha nodded. "Naruto; many warriors have died from unreported injuries because they were acting tough and didn't want to admit they were hurt. Now take off your shirt!"

" _EEEEEKKK!_ " shrieked Naruto.

As if on cue (and because he'd been listening through the door the entire time) Jiraiya came in only to see Pyrrha pulling on Naruto's sleeve, Blake pulling Naruto's shirt up and Hinata pulling at Naruto's pants. "I brought din - ** _OH MY!_** Should I come back later everybody? It looks like you are all awfully busy right now. Should I give you an hour or so?"

Everybody froze upon realizing what a compromising position they were in. All three girls shot to the furthest corners of the room faster than a body flicker and Naruto (temporarily airborne) landed in a heap on the couch and tried to pull his clothes back into place. Jiraiya almost had to shove his fist in his mouth to keep from exploding into laughter at the sheer horror and embarrassment on Naruto's face when the blonde squeaked, " _It's-not-what it-looks-like-Ero-sennin!_ "

….

After everyone was seated at the dinner table Jiraiya said, "Oh I see, you were just checking Naruto for injuries." Turning to the still blushing Naruto he said, "Well, that explains everything perfectly. You are so lucky that these lovely ladies care so much Naruto." ' _I couldn't have scripted this situation better! This is pure gold!_ ' thought the Super-pervert.

"Ahem. _Well_. Um yes, we were all very worried for Naruto-kun's health and got a bit carried away." said a still rosy cheeked Hinata. ' _It is a miracle I didn't faint!_ '

Blake was blushing like a tomato herself. "Well, the main thing is Naruto is okay Jiraiya-sama." ' _I wish I could die; I'm so damn embarrassed_.'

"What they said." said Pyrrha in a totally robotic tone of voice as her eyes stared blindly into nowhere.

Jiraiya said in a Fatherly tone, "Well there's no harm done. It was just a little miscommunication." ' _Gods if I'd only had a camera!_ ' "Let's all eat first and then we can discuss other things."

Everyone was more than happy to forget _the incident_ and Naruto chowed down while everyone else ate at a normal pace.

….

"He had six arms?" asked Blake in a frightened tone. "Did he have black hair up in a ponytail Naruto?"

Naruto gasped. "Yeah that's exactly right. Do you know that guy?"

Jiraiya quickly interceded, "That's right Blake-chan; you did some reconnaissance on Oto Village for us didn't you?" ' _I keep forgetting she has Tsuchi Kin's memories. This could be a real plus_.'

Blake let out a small breath of relief and nodded to Jiraiya. "Yes, the ninja from Sound is named Kidōmaru and he is one of Orochimaru's four elite bodyguards known as the _Sound Four_. You're very lucky that you escaped him alive Naruto. I forgot his favored weapon was a bow. It should have occurred to me earlier. Is there a trail or did he already escape the village?"

Naruto shook his head as if trying to forget an unpleasant memory. "He didn't make it out of the village. I took his head off with a wind slash. The reason I moved to this apartment was in case someone else has targeted me. Last night was living hell and the poor security at my old apartment didn't help."

Pyrrha put her hand on Naruto's left arm. "It was your first kill wasn't it?" she asked sympathetically. Her green eyes were full of compassion that Naruto wasn't used to from others.

The orange loving ninja simply shook his head yes and he soon found Hinata was hugging him as she, Blake and Pyrrha gently soothed his troubled mind….

Naruto sat and talked with the girls about anything and everything until it started getting late. He eventually bid them a good evening and got his room arranged to go to sleep early. With everything that had happened he was tired out. It was a big comfort that Jiraiya was staying in the spare bedroom the first few days as well. Naruto fell asleep thinking of three angels that cared for him….

….

 **The Hyuga Compound**

Hinata got home around eight in the evening and entered the Compound quietly. The guard bid her welcome and Hinata went straight to her room to shower. She had no doubt the sentries already informed Hiashi-sama she was back but as long as he didn't demand her presence then Hinata was quite happy to not see him. The heiress was wearing a yukata after she dried off from her shower and was about to get out some more advanced juken scrolls to study before she heard a knock on her door. Calling out Hinata asked, "Who is it?"

A gentle voice from outside said, "It is Natsu, Hinata-sama. I have a message for you from the Elder Council. May I come in?"

Hinata sighed and came over to her door to allow Natsu to enter. Hinata asked, "What is the message do the old fossils on the council have for me Natsu?"

Natsu gasped and said, "Hinata-sama! The Council of Elders-"

"The Council of Elders are relics of a bygone era." stated Hinata curtly. "They are the reason the Hyūga Clan is _backwards_ when we should be _evolving_. The Caged Bird seal is barbarism from the past that they force on our very own family. _That_ is all the proof any of us need." Hinata sighed. "I suppose that is all a moot point for now. What is your message from them Natsu?"

Natsu was a bit floored from Hinata's rather impassioned speech. "Y-yes; the Elder Council has called for your presence in the Meeting Chambers."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "….Pertaining to what Natsu?"

"I do not know Hinata-sama." said Natsu. "They simply sent me to retrieve you as soon as possible."

The Byakugan Princess narrowed her eyes. "Tell the Council that the _Heiress of the Clan_ will arrive there in the Meeting Chambers _at her leisure_ Natsu. I have things to do that are far more important than their endless meddling."

Natsu bowed meekly. The subtle killing intent from Hinata frightened her. "I will tell them straightaway Hinata-sama."

….

 **The Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha came in having already had dinner at Naruto's new place. She apologized to Inoichi and Ayano for staying out late but they said that Kurenai had already informed them she might be a bit late when she brought Ino in. "So where did you go to dinner Pyrrha-chan?" asked Ayano.

Pyrrha explained, "Blake, Hinata and I went to see Uzumaki Naruto to cheer him up. He was injured and Jiraiya-sama bought us all dinner so we stayed and ate there."

Inoichi nodded. "I heard what happened from my friend Akimichi Choza. Naruto must be pretty down being injured with the Chunin Exam finals coming up and all. Has he dropped out?"

"Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-sama are determined that he can compete." explained Pyrrha. "I hope it works out for him but right now Naruto-kun looks exhausted. He needs to take care of himself."

"You'll find that Naruto is amazingly resilient." said Inoichi. "With his metabolism he just might be able to pull things off."

"So tell us about your training today." said Ayano. "Ino-chan went straight to bed after her shower and just said it was a nightmare."

The redhead said politely, "Well, Sakura and Ino had a bit of trouble. They aren't as physically fit as the rest of us. I'm sure it will get better as time goes on…."

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Blake slipped in the front door and found Anko was up reading a weapons magazine. "I'm home Anko." said the faunus girl.

"Good timing Blake-chan." said Anko. "Did you already eat dinner?"

The cat eared girl nodded. "We went over to Uzumaki Naruto's and had Akimichi Barbeque."

"That must have been a long dinner considering the time." Anko raised an eyebrow. "Should I get a pregnancy test for you Blake-chan?"

Blake was blushing from her head to her toes as she screeched, " _Anko nee-chan!_ " in embarrassment.

Anko just laughed uproariously. _'Blake-chan is just so much fun to tease._ ' chortled the Snake Mistress to herself….

….

 **The Hyūga Compound**

Hinata was standing in front of the Hyūga Elders in the Council Chambers wearing one of her traditional white clan robes with the Hyūga Clan's Crest on the back. The Heiress found the Crest to be both fitting and ironic given it was a _flame_ motif. She was unflinching in her demeanor and her eyes had a cool, remote look in them that made her seem untouchable. As before she simply bowed in politeness but showed no deference to the Council at all which ruffled some feathers….not that Hinata particularly gave a damn…. Getting tired of waiting she asked in a bored tone, "I there a reason I was summoned here Elders? I have to get up early in the morning to train and I haven't got time to dawdle."

Elder Hiraku was incensed, "Don't think you aren't being monitored Hinata-sama! I for one-"

"You mean Hyūga Tokuma?" asked Hinata in a dismissive tone.

Elder Minako's eyes went wide. "H-how did you know?"

Hinata thought, ' _I didn't; you just told me_.' "I'm afraid that all of you are entirely too predictable." She channeled flame chakra into her glare are pinned Elder Hiroku. "As for you Hiroku; watch your tongue with me or you'll have a burn scar on your _face_ that matches the one I put on your chest….How is your lummox of a grandson Hiroki anyway?" she asked smiling meanly. "Is he out of the hospital yet or is he still hiding and licking his wounds?"

The Head Elder made a hand motion that shut up Hiroku before the man could retort. The killing intent rolling off Hinata as well as her vicious smile was enough for him to conclude she _wanted_ an excuse to cripple Hiroku. "Hinata, we only wish to talk. I admit we did send Tokuma to look into your training and his report to us was simply staggering. Why did you not show this power to us before? Why did you not use this new style of yours against Neji? Surely you could have defeated him easily."

Elder Majo was starting to sweat as Hinata's fiery vision swept over her. Majo said, "Perhaps Hinata-sama didn't feel the time was right. It is best for a shinobi to be discreet with his or her abilities after all."

Elder Minako said, "Hinata-sama, I would ask what _inspired_ you to create such a devastating new form of Juken. What you have created is nothing short of revolutionary!"

Hinata's eyes narrowed. "It is also something that _every single one of you_ in this room would have **_forbidden_** because you traditionalists foolishly believe that juken is perfected and cannot be improved or evolved. Until that kind of thinking is washed away the Hyūga Clan will continue to stagnate and the divide between the houses will continue to grow like a malignant tumor that the Caged Bird Seal is. I'm going to strike down that self destructive path you all have steered us on and _if it means burning a few of you alive then so be it_ …. I have been idle long enough and my patience with your outdated meddling is wearing thin. My Father Hiashi and my departed Uncle Hizashi wanted to unite the houses but you quashed it. _I will not be so easily swayed_."

The entire Elder Council sat in stunned silence at Hinata's declaration of war. They were too shocked to speak and Hinata said, "It seems the Elder Council has _much_ to think about. I am retiring for the night. _Pleasant dreams_." With that Hinata swept out of the room leaving the Council in silence.

' _What are we going to do now…?_ ' was the collective thought of the Elders….

….

 **Oto Village**

It was early morning and Yakushi Kabuto was in a bit of a quandary. He was stuck in the Land of Rice because somehow he'd been discovered in Konoha. It wasn't to say that Kabuto wasn't making himself useful by taking care of the ailing Kaguya Kimimaro but his main duty was as an advanced spy for Orochimaru and he felt he had failed his Master in that regard. Orochimaru had dismissed Kabuto's discovery as a case of bad luck as opposed to any sort of failure on Kabuto's part. There were other issues as well. Kidōmaru had been dispatched days ago to eliminate Konoha's jinchūriki and hadn't reported back yet. It was too early to be worried given Kidōmaru didn't have an exact time table (the spider ninja may not have even struck yet) but Kabuto had this gut feeling that things would go south.

From Kabuto's personal experience with Uzumaki Naruto he felt the boy was naïve and foolish but at the same time there was something dangerous about the blonde. It had nothing to do with Kyubi; it was more the feeling that Naruto was a wildcard that couldn't be factored into Orochimaru-sama's (or anyone's) plans. _That_ had Kabuto unsettled. Of course, that was the whole reason Kidōmaru was dispatched to begin with. Kabuto mentioned his views about Uzumaki to Orochimaru-sama and the Snake Sanin promptly sent out one of the Sound Four to deal with that Kyubi brat while the other three did their own job. Kidōmaru was probably the most intelligent of the Sound Four and though he was very arrogant (all four of them were) at least the six armed ninja could back it up.

Kabuto looked over his latest reports on the other members of the Sound Four. ' _Well, there is no reason their operation should be an issue._ ' thought the bespectacled medic to himself. ' _There are only three weeks until the invasion and here I am fearing it will fail. I'll just have to redouble my efforts and have greater faith in Orochimaru-sama's wisdom_.'

….

 **Konoha Village, the Yamanaka Residence**

Dawn came much too early for Ino. Pyrrha decided to get her up a little early because they were late yesterday. " _Grroooaaannn_ ….I was having a nice dream about _Sasuke-kun_ sweeping me off my feet and taking my on a tropical beach vacation in Moon Country. Let me sleep for another six hours or so. _Please Pyrrha-chaaan?_ "

Pyrrha smiled and said, "Ino, just have a nice shower to wake you up and we'll have some breakfast together. Today's training will be better." Then Pyrrha made a _fatal_ mistake. "Who _is_ this Sasuke person you and Sakura are always talking about anyway?"

Ino's bloodshot eyes got a manic look in the as Pyrrha turned her back to turn on the shower for the not quite awake Ino. "I **_MUST_** convert you to the _True Faith of Sasukeism!_ " said a clearly out of her mind Ino that charged Pyrrha from behind.

Pyrrha stepped to the left and said, "Wait till the shower water warms up and-" Ino went screaming by in a flash. "-Or maybe you prefer a cold showers?" asked Pyrrha politely.

Ino's epic screech when she ran under the ice cold water still in her pajamas was enough to awaken the whole Yamanaka Clan and several generations of their ancestors as well….

….

 **The Haruno Residence**

Blake was standing at Sakura's front door after pounding on it for ten minutes waiting for somebody to answer. ' _Something is wrong here_.' thought the feline faunus girl. She circled around the house and all was quiet. She took a delicate sniff and a stench hit her nose. Her Amber eyes widened. ' _It smells like_ _ **death**_ _from that house. I have to get ANBU or Anko nee-chan!_ ' Blake dashed around to the front of the Haruno's home and looked about. She didn't know the pattern to summon ANBU so she looked about until she saw an ANBU with a Deer mask. "ANBU Deer-san, there is a problem!" Getting no reaction she exclaimed, "This is urgent!"

The ANBU turned to Blake and said, "You have a Konaha armband but I don't recognize you."

Blake said calmly, "I'm special probationary genin Blake Belladonna and I am the ward of Special Jonin Mitarashi Anko." She held up her identification papers and said, "Here is my I.D."

After ANBU Deer verified her identity he said, "Very well Special genin, "What is it you have to report that is so critical to require ANBU?"

The amber eyed girl said, "I went to the house of Genin Haruno Sakura to pick her up for training and no one answered the door. After investigating the outside of the house I found a strong smell of death and the stench of blood emanating from the house. That's when I came to find an ANBU for help."

"Did you actually enter the house?" asked ANBU Deer seriously.

"No sir, there could be evidence." answered Blake quickly.

"Good girl." said Deer. He flared his chakra and said, "Lead me there genin Belladonna."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Kurenai, Ino, Pyrrha and Anko were still waiting for Blake to arrive with Sakura. "This is getting old." said Anko irritably. "Blake-chan must be dragging Pinkie here kicking and screaming. I'm going to body flicker over to the Haruno place."

Kurenai nodded. "Take your time. I'll start the girls warm ups."

Anko noticed everyone's looks of concern as she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

….

 **The Haruno Residence**

When Anko arrived she saw the Haruno home was already taped off and she spotted Blake talking to ANBU Deer and Anko's friend ANBU Cat. Anko moved over to them quickly and said, "Blake-chan; are you alright?"

Blake got up and hugged Anko. She said quietly, "I'm all right but Sakura and her family…."

Anko gave her little sister a gentle squeeze and said to Cat, "Do I have clearance?"

Cat nodded and hand signed [Two dead, one missing. ANBU ears only].

Anko mouthed, ' _Shit_.' "Do you guys need Blake-chan or can I take her?"

Cat shook her head and said, "Blake did a good job today. There is no need for us to keep her here. Genin Belladonna, remember this is all classified for now. We'll inform you and Anko when things can go public."

Blake bowed in affirmation and Anko said, "Let's go and get some drinks back at our place. There's no need for you to be training after that." Creating a shadow clone Anko said to Blake, "My evil twin here will tell Kurenai-chan and the others what the public knows. We can't tell them anything else."

….

 **Hokage's Office**

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not having a good day. The cursory report on the Haruno case was both Haruno Kizashi and his wife Mebuki were murdered by kunai and there was evidence that there had been a battle of some sort in Sakura's bedroom that either led to her being abducted or killed offsite. The whole village was being swept by ANBU and there were no signs of the pink haired genin. As the Third Hokage puffed on his pipe he went over different possibilities in his head. ' _First Naruto, now his teammate Sakura….are they after Team 7?_ ' He snapped his fingers and ANBU Jackal appeared in front of him. He quickly wrote down a set of coordinates. "Take a team of four to this point outside the village. Hatake Kakashi and his student Uchiha Sasuke should be there with ANBU Crow watching over them. Verify their safety and escort them back to the village. Someone may be trying to eliminate Team 7."

About twenty minutes later Gekkō Hayate reported in. "What can I do for you Gekkō? You said it is priority but _everything_ today is a priority I'm afraid." said the tired Hokage.

Hayate nodded. "Forgive me sir. I am here to report that the remains of Kinuta Dosu were found upon the roof of Kikyo Castle Hokage-sama. He was crushed to death by sand. There is no doubt that Gaara of Suna is responsible."

Hiruzen wanted to face palm. "It seems that the Chunin Exam Finals are going to be over before they begin. Has a cleanup squad been called in to recover what is left?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." answered Hayate.

"Very good. Keep this in ANBU circles only." said the Third Hokage. "You are dismissed." after Hayate left Hiruzen wrote a scroll and sealed it with the Hokage's stamp. "Turning to one of his ANBU he said, "Deliver this Shimura Danzo posthaste. It is for his eyes only."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Bad news traveled fast. The rumor mill was cranking full force about the Haruno family. When Ino found out she was (understandably) crushed and burst into tears. Kurenai decided to call of the training for the day and took Ino home. Pyrrha and Hinata were both out of sorts as well and went to inform Naruto of the bad news. Hinata was explaining the situation to Pyrrha. "Sakura is not only Naruto-kun's teammate but he has had a crush on her since the Academy. It's going to be very difficult for him."

"Shouldn't we get Blake first?" asked Pyrrha. "She must have known since this morning."

Hinata sighed. "I guess you are right. She probably knows things we don't. Do you know where she and Anko-sensei live?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Just follow me."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

The orange loving ninja was sitting in silence staring out the window. Jiraiya informed him about the Haruno family when he got back this morning from picking up breakfast. Jiraiya was gentle with the information but he didn't lie about it either. Naruto thought to himself, ' _They tried to kill me. They may have killed Sakura-chan. Jiraiya-sensei says Hokaga Jiji has someone checking on Sasuke….And I'm locked away here in my apartment for my own safety. I thought Kidōmaru coming after me was a revenge thing for me rearranging Kinuta Dosu's face but now I wonder if Team 7 is the actual target. Could it be some group connected to Gato that wants revenge? Everything has gone downhill since I got attacked. Jiraiya-sensei said that a ninja is one who endures. I just have to hurry up and wait_.'

Naruto was just numb….

….

 **Hokage's Office**

The report came in from Jackal's Team and Hiruzen was reading it aloud to Danzo, Homura and Koharu. "ANBU Crow; dead due to a broken neck and skull fracture. Hatake Kakashi; dead. He was knocked unconscious, tied up to a tree and died of a sword wound through the heart. Uchiha Sasuke; missing though all of his belongs were left behind. Suspected abduction. This all happened day before yesterday. In order, Kakashi was executed; Sasuke was abducted and possibly killed. Naruto survived the attempt on his life and is recovering. Sakura's parents are dead from kunai wounds and Haruno Sakura has been abducted and is possibly dead. This is a disaster. Every member of Team 7 has been eliminated in the last three days."

All three Elders looked grim. Finally Koharu asked, "What are we to do Hiruzen? This is unprecedented."

The Third Hokage said in an iron tone. "I'll tell you three what we're going to do. We're taking the offensive. Danzo, have your ROOT eliminate all Oto Ninjas in Fire Country. Homura begin making preparations to close the borders. I'm putting Jiraiya in charge of getting our ninjas here in Konoha on war footing. At the end of next week we will officially cancel the Chunin Exams."

Homura said, "There is still the problem of Suna."

Hiruzen simply answered. "We don't touch our Suna _allies_ just yet. Leave that to me."

"Going easy on Suna won't help our cause Hiruzen." said Danzo.

The Third Hokage pinned his old rival with a glare. "I'm not getting us in a two front war. We will deal with Oto covertly and then see what the Kazekage wants to do. If Rasa-sama wants a war he will get one _in spades_."

….

 **The Yamanaka Residence**

Ino was sitting with Inoichi and Ayano on the couch. Pyrrha and Hinata stopped in to check on her a before they went to see Blake but they felt Ino needed some alone time with her parents. Ino had been terribly upset and was leaning in her Mother's embrace. She said in a sad tone, "Pyrrha-chan has the right idea. Naruto has loved Forehead for years and is really going to need some support to get through this."

Ayano ran her fingers through Ino's blonde hair. "I can't believe Mebuki and Kizashi are gone….at least there is a possibility that Sakura-chan is alive."

Inoichi said sadly, "It's always hard to let go. Princess, this is a shock to all of us. You know we'll be here for you. If by some miracle Sakura-chan is alive I promise you we'll take her in as family."

"I don't want to believe it." said Ino depressed. "I just can't believe they are gone."

"It will take time to sink in Ino-chan." said Inoichi. "The grieving process takes time. Just don't bottle it up. Talk to your Mother and I….and talk to your friends too. We all need to pray Sakura-chan is alive for now. It's all we can do." ' _I can't bear to see my little girl this way. When she finds out about the Uchiha going missing it will be even worse_ ….'

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Pyrrha gently knocked on Anko's door and the Snake Mistress soon answered. "Hey kiddies; are you here to see Blake-chan?"

"We wanted to make sure she's okay; sometimes it's good to have friends to talk to." said the redhead.

Anko ushered them in. They saw Blake was sitting at the dinner table listlessly. "Blake; how are you doing?" asked Pyrrha.

"I guess I'm okay." said Blake in a distant voice. "I've seen death before but I still feel kind of hollow. Sakura wasn't my favorite person but finding out she's missing or dead was a real shock."

"Did you actually discover the bodies?" asked Hinata.

Blake shook her head. "I never set foot in the place. After I pounded on the door for a while and no one answered so I checked around the outside of the house. There was a window cracked open for ventilation and all that was coming come was the stench of blood and death. After that I went and found an ANBU to investigate. I sat outside and gave a report while the ANBU checked out the place. From what I could overhear it was bad…. _really bad_. I've been home passing the time with Anko since I really didn't feel like getting out."

The girls sat and talked a while before Pyrrha and Hinata made the decision to go see Naruto. Blake simply wasn't up to it. "Tell Naruto-kun I said Hi." said Blake as she showed Hinata and Pyrrha out.

"We'll do that." said Hinata. "You just take it easy."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

When Hinata and Pyrrha arrived a shadow clone answered the door and let them in. "Boss is in the kitchen." was all the clone said before he locked the door and dispelled.

The girls peered into the kitchen and saw Naruto's eyes were closed with his right hand held out. A few seconds later a perfectly round, spiraling sphere of blue chakra came into being and Naruto opened his eyes. He simply said, "Hello Hinata-chan; Pyrrha-chan."

"What is that?" asked Pyrrha looking at the glowing sphere. "It's beautiful."

Naruto said with sense of accomplishment in his voice, "This is the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu; the **_rasengan_**."

….

 ** _OMAKE –The death of Sasukeism…._**

 **The Yamanaka Residence, Ino's Room**

Sakura and Ino brought out one of the best pictures any member of the _Sacred Faith of Sasukeism_ could possibly possess. It was a framed picture of Sasuke in his ninja gear that showed off all of his Adonis like features. "….And this is the _glorious, amazing, talented, handsome pinnacle of manhood_ _ **Sasuke-kun**_ _!"_ said Ino with enough sugary enthusiasm to throw Blake and Pyyrha both into diabetic shock….or make them throw up….or both. Sakura's _ooohing_ and _aaahing_ and the genjutsu sparkles around the picture didn't help them fight back the nausea either….

Blake held up a hand in a 'stop' motion that made the genjutsu sparkles vanish and recalled from Kin's memories what she'd seen of Sasuke. "Ummm, correct me if I'm wrong; but isn't this the **_sadistic psycho_** _with_ _ **Orochimaru's Cursed Seal**_ that was running around in the Forest of Death yanking people's arms out of their sockets just to get his rocks off?" Seeing the deer in the headlights look that Ino and Sakura had, Blake said, " _M'kay!_ So very **_not_** interested. I'll take a pass on this one."

"He was just having an off day!" explained Sakura. Blake had a flat look of utter disbelief. "You've got to believe me!" pleaded the rosette.

The feline faunus growled, "What part of _, 'If he asked me out in a bar I'd claim to be a lesbian to get away from him,'_ do your two fangirls not understand?"

"But he's like a handsome Prince! And he's the last Uchiha." argued Ino. Seeing Blake was totally unimpressed; Ino turned to Pyrrha. "Just take a _look_ at this picture of Sasuke-kun and tell me the very first words that come to your mind Pyrrha-chan; like _dreamboat_ or _gorgeous_."

Pyrrha scrutinized the picture carefully and had a brief flash of memory that Ise Kato had in the first round of the Chunin Exams. "…..You mean that duck-butt haired androgynous crossbreed is a guy? I honestly had no idea from what I've seen of it...er, I mean him."

Ino's mind imploded leaving her ears smoking and unconscious while Sakura fell backwards with swirls in her eyes in a dead faint.

Blake got a wry smile. "Wow Pyrrha; that was an epic putdown for the record. I'm truly impressed. You should write that one down for posterity."

"But those honestly were the first the first words I thought of." replied the redhead.

Blake sweat dropped. "Well, let's check on Sakura and Ino to see if either of them still has a pulse."

….

 ** _OMAKE END…._**

POSTSCRIPT:

The Omake seems out of place but I actually wrote it _before_ the rest of the chapter. I liked it enough to keep it even though it really doesn't fit with the story's mood at this point. Well, we've definitely changed gears this chapter and several people have died. I originally was going to continue with a lighter plot for a while but this idea hit me out of the blue and I **_had_** to write it down. Sasuke and Sakura are both MIA/KIA and no one knows why. The Third Hokage has stepped up and is taking action against Oto by using Danzo's ROOT forces. How is that going to pan out? Ino is a mess as her best friend is missing and she doesn't even know about Sasuke yet. On the positive side Naruto hasn't been idle and channeled his sorrows into completing the single handed rasengan. Will things get worse next chapter or better? See you next time. Blue out. 6/16/16


	9. Chapter 9

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Hello everybody! I received an overwhelming response to last chapter (and several death threats) so I decided to continue working on this story a bit more before changing gears again. Surprisingly I didn't seem to lose as many readers as I expected despite the dark plot twists. I guess we'll see if that trend continues after this chapter. Here is chapter 9. Enjoy!

Last time:

 ** _Naruto's Apartment_**

 _When Hinata and Pyrrha arrived a shadow clone answered the door and let them in. "Boss is in the kitchen." was all the clone said before he locked the door and dispelled._

 _The girls peered into the kitchen and saw Naruto's eyes were closed with his right hand held out. A few seconds later a perfectly round, spiraling sphere of blue chakra came into being and Naruto opened his eyes. He simply said, "Hello Hinata-chan; Pyrrha-chan."_

 _"_ _What is that?" asked Pyrrha looking at the glowing sphere. "It's beautiful."_

 _Naruto said with sense of accomplishment in his voice, "This is the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu; the_ _ **rasengan**_ _."_

Chapter 9

 ** _Dreamscape…._**

 _An odd pair of distinctively different voices was heard._

 _"_ _It's not like I'm in favor of giving up my individuality you know…."_

 _"_ _I'm not either but needs must be met…."_

 _"_ _I'd think having a semi-split personality would end up being very awkward…."_

 _"_ _I agree and you are correct. Survival is paramount. I have much to accomplish in this world…."_

 _"_ _As do I….it seems the die is cast…."_

 _"_ _Well, if someone told me this would happen while I was alive I would have told them they were insane…."_

 _"_ _I feel the same. Shall we proceed together…?"_

 _"_ _Let us begin…."_

 ** _Dreamscape End…._**

….

 **Konoha, the Hyūga Compound**

Hinata woke up with a start. She was sweating heavily. (Sigh) ' _Sometimes I get flashes and they really startle me. They are going away with time. I hope they fade eventually_.' Memories of various fights that both Cinder and Hinata fought filtered through her head as they slowly settled into uniform memories. "Inoichi-san said it would take some time. I wonder if Pyrrha or Blake have similar things in their subconscious minds?"

….

 **The Yamanaka Residence**

Ino was up in the middle of the night drinking some water. The last few days had been living hell. ' _It's all a blur to me. First Sakura-chan, then Kizashi and Mebuki….and then being hit the next day with the loss of Sasuke-kun and his sensei Kakashi_ ….' "I don't know how much more I can take. Ever since these damned Chunin Exams started life has been one horrid thing after another." Ino looked out the window. ' _I know my mental abilities aren't nearly as great as Daddy's are but I can feel the tension and the unease in the air. It's like I feel that everyone and_ _ **everything**_ _is pulled impossibly taut and something has to give. Either something is going to spring back and release all that pressure or everything is going to break under the strain_.' "I feel fear in the air like it's a solid object. I'm….afraid…."

There would be little rest for the Yamanaka Heiress that night….

….

 **ANBU Morgue**

The next morning two medic nins were compiling their autopsy report on Kakashi's body. "Other than his heart being pierced by a sword and his sharingan eye being removed there are no other injuries worth mentioning." said Kumadori. He was young in appearance with brown hair.

Hi female partner Oyone agreed. She brushed a few of her black bangs out of her face. "The blow to the back of his head was precise but the stab wound and the posthumous removal of the eye were done sloppily."

"I'd say three different people were involved." said Kumadori. "The sword wound was particularly messy. At least the eye was removed somewhat cleanly."

Morino Ibiki came in. "Did we find out anything new?"

"By our estimates the blow to the head, the sword wound and the eye removal were all done by separate people." intoned Oyone. "The minor rope burns that held Kakashi's body to the tree show that someone with extreme experience was involved in tying him up."

"I still wonder why Kakashi was tied up just to execute him though." said Kumadori. "There is no evidence that they tried to interrogate him at all and no trace of interrogation drugs either."

Ibiki rubbed his chin. "We don't know who the second and third parties involved were but the person who knocked Kakashi out and tied him up was most likely ANBU Crow. He must have completely blindsided Kakashi to have gotten the drop on him. Kakashi was way too fast and way too strong otherwise. Once you complete Kakashi's autopsy check the injuries to Crow. I have a sneaking suspicion whoever murdered Kakashi got rid of Crow as well to cover their trail."

If Kumadori and Oyone were surprised they hid it well. "We'll get right on it when we're done here." said Oyone.

….

 ** _Dreamscape…._**

 _It sounded like one voice now._

 _"_ _Actually this isn't too bad; I feared all the memories would be lost…."_

 _"_ _I guess I'm one person just thinking to myself now even though I can carry on an internal monologue…."_

 _"_ _All the betrayal and hardships in both lives…."_

 _"_ _This partnership of necessity may actually give me the edge I need to protect those I hold dear to me this time…."_

 ** _Dreamscape End…._**

….

 **Training Ground 52**

It had been three days since the murder of the Haruno family and Sakura's disappearance and two days since it was announced that Kakashi was found dead and Sasuke vanished. Jiraiya was doing his best to mobilize the Konoha forces _and_ keep an eye on Naruto. Fortunately Naruto was ready for some light training (doctor's orders be damned!) and was training with Hinata's group. Jiraiya gave a workout regimen to Kurenai to help outline Naruto's training. Despite the fact he wasn't at full strength bodily Naruto was making rapid progression both physically and on the ninjutsu side. The group's morale was understandably low (Ino was devastated and Naruto was depressed) but they were training hard. It seemed that Ino losing two people so dear to her was enough to galvanize her into _finally_ training seriously. The Yamanaka Heiress was still miles behind the others (Naruto even in his weakened state could kick her ass) but Ino was really trying and doing better.

Naruto found that training with the girls was lots of fun too. He was amazed by their skill and made shadow clone cheering squads for support with arm bands with each kunoichi's face on them. Unfortunately the cheering squads took their jobs a bit _too_ seriously and attacked each other in the name of Hinata-chan, Blake-chan and Pyrrha-chan. Anko thought it was hysterical watching the mob of blondes kick each other's asses but Kurenai was _not_ amused. It was hard for the genins to **_not_** notice the Konoha Ninja Forces mobilizing but they were told simply to continue training until the Chunin Exam Finals. They _weren't_ told that the Chunin Exams were cancelled…. _yet_.

….

"The feeling in the air is so heavy." said Ino as she ate more of Hinata's homemade food. Lunch was fairly sedate and the genins were just relaxing and talking as they ate. "I still can't believe you can cook this well Hinata. I wish I could cook half this good."

Blake nodded as she ate her sushi. "I _must_ find out what this is seasoned with; it's unbelievably good."

Pyrrha said quietly, "The feeling is like we're getting ready for a war. Everyone is on needles and pins. I feel like we're out here training just to keep us out of trouble."

"I thought you liked to train Pyrrha-chan." said Naruto.

"I do but both Kurenai-sensei and Anko-sensei seem distracted." explained the redhead. "Jiraiya-sama or a shadow clone of him has been around whenever he can but it's obvious Hokage-sama has him doing something Naruto-kun. Otherwise he would be supervising you personally."

Hinata nodded and set her drink down. "In the last couple of days the movements of the Ninja Corps has increased a lot. I was told that they are upping the security for the Chunin Exam Finals but I don't buy it. It seems like Konoha is mobilizing for war if you ask me. The differences are subtle but almost every ninja of chunin rank or higher are carrying full combat loads of kunai and shuriken."

"The guard patrols have doubled as well." said Naruto. "I know patrol routes pretty well and they aren't standard."

Ino cocked an eyebrow. "Why on earth would a genin be familiar with patrol routes Naruto?"

Naruto crossed his arms and answered haughtily, "Because being a prankster of my caliber in the Academy took long and careful planning Ino. You don't think I painted the Hokage Monument in broad daylight without carefully observing what the chunins on patrol were doing did you?"

Ino sweat dropped and Hinata giggled at the memory. Pyrrha almost spilled her drink. "What do you mean ' _painted the Hokage Monument'_ Naruto-kun?" asked the redhead.

The orange loving ninja said, "My magnum opus of pranking was to decorate the Hokage Monument and-"

"Cause all sorts of trouble!" said Ino accusingly.

"-spread love, peace, joy and good fortune throughout the Village of Konoha." finished Naruto in a grandiose tone.

Blake started giggling quietly at first but then blew up into full grown laughter, "That is so….so _you_ Naruto-kun!" she said between laughs.

Ino sweat dropped that even someone as serious as Blake was taking Naruto's side in this matter. "It's hopeless…." she lamented.

….

 **Uzumaki Naruto's Apartment**

On the fourth day after his death was announced, Kakashi's funeral was to be held the following morning and Naruto wasn't sure he could face it the night before. As Jiraiya was out he was having dinner with Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake who were very concerned for the blonde. They had invited Ino as well but she felt more comfortable at home with her parents. "I'm sure the truth about Kakashi-sensei's death will come out eventually Naruto-kun." said Hinata kindly. "We need to keep training and become stronger for those we lost."

"Hinata is right Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha. "I'm sure your Sensei would want it that way."

Naruto sniffled. "I'm sorry I've been so glum, -ttebayo."

Blake gave her usual minimalist smile. "It's okay Naruto-kun. It would be impossible _not_ to be depressed. Tell you what, Anko nee-chan and I will stand over with you and Jiraiya-sama tomorrow during the funeral."

"That's a good idea Blake." said Pyrrha. "Since I'm going to be standing with the Yamanakas and Hinata will be with the Hyūgas you can give Naruto-kun some moral support."

Hinata nodded. "That is a good idea. After the funeral we'll all do something together and relax to keep your mind off things. How does that sound?"

Naruto smiled and nodded. "You girls take such good care of me."

….

 **The Day of Kakashi's Funeral….**

It had rained all morning and many felt the heavens were openly crying for a fallen hero. Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself, ' _Kakashi….you didn't deserve to die like you did….Dying is for old people like me, not the young who are still in their prime…._ '

When the top half of the casket was opened and Kakashi's face looked peaceful as if he was merely asleep. Many friends that were a part of Kakashi's life, both old and new were standing there to bid their final farewells. The Third Hokage gave a stirring speech about the many accomplishments Kakashi made during his life and the many sacrifices as well. Though many of the ninjas tried to remain stoic the sadness in the air was so heavy that many were crying….Naruto wasn't blubbering but the tears wouldn't stop as he laid flowers on the casket of his teacher. "Sensei; somehow, some way I'll make sure you didn't die in vain. I swear to you I'll find out what happened to you…." whispered Naruto in his black funeral clothes.

A long line of others including many of Kakashi's old classmates such as Kurenai, Asuma, Ebisu and Anko walked by and placed their own offerings on the grave. Not one of them passed without a quiet farewell and a tear shed.

Jiraiya looked inside his funeral robes and saw the new Icha Icha that he'd finished recently. It was a prerelease copy and he quietly, almost reverently placed it in the casket with one of his biggest fans. Jiraiya simply said, "Enjoy that one in the pure land Hatake Kakashi." He shed a single tear and went over to stand by Naruto, Blake and Anko.

Maito Gai came up last and said between tears and sobs, "My eternal rival; I will always; always treasure the friendship that we've shared over the years. (sob) It is for that reason that I will carve your honored name on the Memorial Stone. You shall never be forgotten my dear friend. These flowers (sob) are my final gift to you…." Gai broke down but somehow he still retained his dignity. The tears of the Green Beast of Konoha had significance that touched many hearts deeply. There was nothing comical about this Maito Gai stricken with grief….

A light sun shower came down which seemed fitting to all present. It seemed that the kamis above had visited and granted Hatake Kakashi the peace he so rightfully deserved….

The Priest and Shrine Maidens went to close the top of the casket and place a tapestry with the Hatake Family Crest in place. Naruto forced himself to look through his burning tears as he watched the somber event unfold….

That is until Kakashi's arm shot up and stopped the casket from closing….

" ** _W-W-WHAT THE FUCK?!_** " thought/said everyone present. Several people fainted.

Kakashi sat up, yawned and stretched. He blinked a couple of times with his visible eye as he took in the scenery around him. Making a smacking noise with his lips; his eye settled on Blake. "Well, quite a crowd we have here." said the silver haired man with an eye smile. Everyone's eyes were big as saucers. He looked back at Blake and said, "Blake Belladonna, are you _still_ wearing that ribbon?"

Blake's amber eyes got even bigger. "P-P-Professor Ozpin?"

Kakashi's eye smile didn't falter and he said, "In a manner of speaking….I'm still Kakashi though if you know what I mean." Looking about again Kakashi/Ozpin said, "Wow, what a turnout! I feel so loved. Sorry everybody but I'm afraid the news of my death is a bit premature."

The entire crowd face faulted from the oldest ninjas to the youngest child.

Asuma said, "God _damn_ it! We _always_ said Kakashi would be late to his own funeral! _I should have known!_ "

" _You wouldn't_ _ **believe**_ _the crazy dreams I was having!**_ " said the seemingly undead silver haired jonin. Then Kakashi watched with a sweat drop as the former mourners wandered away muttering and griping about Kakashi's epic tardiness.

Naruto face palmed and turned to the one whose advice he respected the most. " _What the_ _ **hell**_ _just happened Hokage Jiji?_ "

The Third Hokage let out a pained groan. "It seems that even _death_ can't stop your sensei's incredibly bad timing. Let's just call it a day Naruto-kun." ' _What a bloody waste of a eulogy. I wonder if he's been awake the whole damn time_.'

Jiraiya just shrugged and followed his sensei Sarutobi and Naruto. He needed a drink….

….

 **The Hokage's Office**

Yamanaka Inoichi came out of his mind walk and said, "With all due respect, this is getting old. I never thought I'd say this Hokage-sama but sometimes I _really_ wish the dead would _stay_ dead." Inoichi felt a chill up his spine and saw Pyrrha, Blake and particularly Hinata glaring daggers at him. "Ummm….no offense intended ladies."

Hinata said crossly, "So is it that old do-gooder Professor Ozpin or not Inoichi-san?"

Inoichi got a smile on his face and said, "That's quite a sour look Hinata. I'm guessing Cinder Fall didn't get along with him?"

The Byakugan Princess narrowed her eyes. "Professor Ozpin was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy and was a major roadblock on my quest for world domination." Both the Hokage and Inoichi looked at Hinata with raised eyebrows whereas Pyrrha and Blake just looked a bit irritated. Looking a bit self conscious Hinata coughed and said, "Well, it's good for a young woman such as myself to have goals." ….Everyone sweat dropped at that comment.

Inoichi said, "Well, setting world domination aside it seems that Hatake Kakashi has indeed experienced a soul merger with this Ozpin of Remnant." Blake and Pyrrha hi fived and Hinata looked sullen.

Watching the kunoichi's exchange with a bit of amusement, the Hokage said, "Tell us your findings then Inoichi. How did they merge?"

"Well, we already knew that completely posthumous soul mergers were possible because of Pyrrha-chan and her manner of revival." said Inoichi. "The merger was very much cooperative like Hyūga Hinata and Cinder Fall's. The major difference is Kakashi and Ozpin are like peas in a pod. They are each war veterans as well as experienced leaders and strategists. It's kind of frightening. They click together like puzzle pieces. There is still some individuality but it's more like that little voice we all have that is used as a mental sounding board. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Kakashi's personality was largely unchanged unlike Hinata's which was altered a great deal."

"And it's great to have depth perception again!" said Kakashi opening both his new _brown_ eye in place of the sharingan and his original gray eye.

"I see you've awakened Kakashi." said Inoichi. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great for having woke up at my own funeral earlier today." Kakashi sat up and looked at Hinata. "So Naruto's cute little stalker is the criminal mastermind Cinder Fall that engaged me in a life or death duel?"

Hinata blushed in embarrassment and retorted, "….And you're that coffee addicted old schoolteacher with a cane that reads smut in public?"

"Touché." said Kakashi/Ozpin. "For your information Jiraiya-sama's writings are for those of us who appreciate cultured, fine literature." He was holding onto his pre release copy that was in the coffin with him as if the fate of the world depended upon it.

"That's right blasphemer! Icha Icha forever!" declared Blake while pointing at Hinata. The Hokage hid his smile at Blake's passionate declaration.

Pyrrha coughed politely and said, "I think I'd rather discuss world domination than Icha Icha Paradise."

Inoichi face faulted and then said, "Pyrrha-chan, though I'm inclined to agree with you let's just drop both subjects."

….

Soon enough the conversation changed to the events surrounding the murders and disappearances of Team 7. "So they tried to kill Naruto and he came out on top in that bloodbath. I knew they were after Naruto. I'm proud of him." said Kakashi. "I have no idea about the murder of Sakura's parents or her disappearance. I can tell you about what happened to Sasuke and I though."

The Hokage had already invited Morino Ibiki in to hear the report on behalf of ANBU. Pyrrha and Hinata had been dismissed but Inoichi remained for the report and Blake was present in case any Sound ninjas were involved that she could identify. Ibiki had a pad of paper out and said, "Go ahead Kakashi. We aren't 100% sure but we believe ANBU Crow knocked you out and tied you up. All evidence points towards that."

Kakashi nodded. "And you are correct. I'd just finished a round of sparring with Sasuke when Crow handed each of us a bottle of water and the knocked me out while I was drinking mine. I never saw it coming. When I came to I was tied up and three Oto ninjas were there along with Crow and Sasuke. **_Uchiha Sasuke is a traitor_**. He killed me with a sword and I presume left willingly to Oto Village after that."

The room was silent for a few moments and Ibiki scribbled down some notes before he said, "Go on Kakashi. What exactly happened when you woke up?"

"The three Oto ninjas there were younger; probably in their teens." said Kakashi. "The first was a red haired female that had a mouth on her like a sailor. She badmouthed everyone including her teammates. The second was a huge kid built like an Akimichi; he had a Mohawk. The last was a very strange kid with an additional head on his back that seemed asleep. I didn't get their names."

Ibiki turned to Blake. "Can you identify any of them?"

Blake nodded. "They are the other three members of the Sound Four. The Fourth was Kidōmaru that Naruto-kun killed. The girl is Tayuya that specializes in genjutsu. She carries a flute as a weapon but I'm not sure how it works. The big one is Jirōbō and all I really know about him is he's very strong. The last one you saw with two heads is Sakon and Ukon. I guess they are conjoined twins. I know they have some bloodline that allows them two separate somehow but it's rare. Sakon was the leader of the Sound Four so he must be the strongest." Blake paused and said, "They didn't have much to do with Tsuchi Kin and were _really_ arrogant. They were all jonin level and have those Cursed Seals from Orochimaru and are his personal body guards. That's all I can think of aside of the fact they don't get along that well with each other."

Kakashi looked thoughtful. "Well, that's a pretty apt description. It seemed like the girl Tayuya was always arguing with the one called Jirōbō. This is what happened…."

 _Flashback…._

 _Kakashi woke up to a slap in the face from Tayuya. "Wake up trash! We need you awake for this bit."_

 _Kakashi blinked and said, "What happened? Crow? Sasuke?" Sasuke was just sitting there listlessly but Crow was standing with his arms folded across his chest._

 _Crow stepped over in front of Kakashi and said, "Sorry Hatake but Orochimaru pays really well. You're a bit of a has been anyway since you dropped out of ANBU. You're no big loss to Konoha."_

 _Kakashi's visible eye widened. "Crow, I know we didn't always see eye to eye back in ANBU but turning traitor? I can't believe this! We were comrades…."_

 _"_ _That's none of your concern!" snapped Crow. "Money talks and my career in ANBU is a dead end thanks to your poor reports on me."_

 _Jirōbō came over to Crow with a huge roll of ryo bills in his hand. "Well, you heard the man Copycat Kakashi. It seems you Konoha types aren't as honorable as you thought." he handed the money to Crow and said, "You'd best count that in case Tayuya took some of it."_

 _Tayuya said angrily, "Fuck you Fatso! I didn't take a god damned bit of that money!"_

 _Crow chuckled and said, "It's nice to had friends in low places." as he eagerly started counting the money. That was when Jirōbō cracked Crow across the back of his head and knocked the traitorous ANBU out. The big Oto ninja then kneeled down and snapped Crow's neck like a twig._

 _Sakon picked up the roll of ryo bills and pocketed it. "I guess old Crow won't be needing this after all." He turned to Sasuke. "That's what will happen to you if you betray us Uchiha. You threw in your lot with us so go ahead and kill your sensei."_

 _Kakashi asked, "Sasuke, why are you doing this? They are your_ _ **enemies!**_ _" The silver haired jonin was trying to buy time to work his ropes loose._

 _Sasuke seemed to falter for a moment before Tayuya said, "Hurry up and kill him you pussy! We've got a schedule to keep. Kidōmaru should be done killing Uzumaki and we have to rendezvous with him."_

 _"_ _Naruto?" asked Kakashi. "Explain this to me Uchiha Sasuke. Why would you betray your teammates and Konoha? How could you? It isn't like you don't have money so you haven't been bought. What about all your friends that-"_

 _"_ _I HAVE NO FRIENDS!" yelled Sasuke. "I'm an avenger and I walk my path alone. By sealing off this cursed seal you are blocking my path to power. I_ _ **need**_ _power and I can't get it in Konoha!_ _ **Orochimaru**_ _promised me power and I'm going to take it with both hands!_

 _Kakashi growled, "You're wrong Sasuke; there are no shortcuts to strength and Naruto is your best friend."_

 _Sasuke shook his head and said, "The dead last is nothing to me."_

 _"_ _I'm sick of this soap opera you fuckers!" growled Tayuya. "We set up Hatake so you could kill him for your fucking eyes. Get on with it Uchiha!"_

 _"_ _What do you mean your eyes?" asked Kakashi as he continued to mess with his bindings._

 _Sasuke answered, "Itachi told me in order to get the mangekyō sharingan I have to kill someone close to me. Since Naruto is already dead I have to kill you." Sasuke was shedding tears._

 _"_ _You believed the words of_ _ **Itachi?!**_ _" exclaimed Kakashi incredulously. "I don't believe this! Turn back now Sasuke before it's too late."_

 _"_ _Just hurry up and kill your sensei." said Sakon. "I'm sick of all his talking. He's just messing with your head now."_

 _Sasuke leveled the sword he'd been training with at his sensei. "Kakashi, I'm sorry…." The Uchiha charged and impaled his teacher through the heart. "S-sorry…." said Sasuke as he burst into tears._

 _Kakashi felt the light fade from his vision. His last word the Uchiha was "_ _ **Traitor….**_ _" before all faded to black._

 _Flashback end_ ….

Kakashi shook his head. "I can only presume that Sasuke was willingly taken to Orochimaru after that. Being murdered by your own disciple and actually dying is a sobering experience."

Inoichi said, "With all due respect Kakashi; you seem to be taking this all rather well."

The silver haired jonin said, "Maybe it's because of the Ozpin part of me or maybe it was dying but somehow I don't feel…guilty anymore. Obito; Rin and Minato-sensei….even my Father. Somehow I feel like they've forgiven me for surviving. I feel like I have a new chance at life. I don't want to waste it. On the other hand I'm rusty as hell compared to my ANBU days. I need to seriously get back into shape."

"Then welcome back Hatake Kakashi." said the Hokage. "You have been missed."

….

 **Uzumaki Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto was sitting and eating with Jiraiya, "Well, I can't say I'm not happy that Kakashi-sensei is alive but between someone trying to kill me and having a zombie sensei my head is spinning."

Jiraiya chuckled. "We're ninjas Naruto. Our lives being crazy is a given. On the positive side what I saw of your training tells me you are almost back in shape."

"It hasn't even been a week yet Jiraiya-sensei." said Naruto between bites.

"Like it or not that metabolism thanks to your tenant has you back in fighting trim faster than those doctors think is possible." said Jiraiya. "I've already got you scheduled to see a medic ninja tomorrow to get you cleared for training. I need you in top form for upcoming events after all."

"You mean like the war?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya's eyes widened and he whispered, "Who told you?"

The blonde ninja chuckled. " _You_ just did actually. I figured it out from the way the ninjas are patrolling and arming themselves. I'm guessing the Chunin Exams are off? I mean, half of the competitors are missing, injured or dead."

The Toad Sanin smiled. "Sometimes I forget just how cunning you are Uzumaki Naruto. I can't give you specifics but the upcoming Chunin Exams are nothing but a sham now. "You and your fellow genins will be guarding the Village here at home. That's all you need to know. Your sworn duty is to protect Konoha and I know that I can depend on you to do your best."

"You can count on me sensei." said the blonde prankster. "Besides, I still need to get back in shape to kick Neji's ass for Hinata-chan regardless….not that she couldn't do it herself these days."

….

That evening Naruto was having dinner with the girls, (which was getting to be a habit) and they were looking over the beginner fuinjutsu books he had. Naruto was really fascinated by it and was practicing some of the basics in normal ink. Beside him was Pyyrha who had a knack for it herself. (Poor Hinata and Blake were staring at the fuinjutsu books with swirls in their eyes). Pyrrha's green eyes sparkled. "This is amazing Naruto-kun! With just these basic strokes we can turn an ordinary piece of parchment into a scroll that can store as much as a backpack. We're going to need to practice our calligraphy though."

Naruto nodded excitedly. "You handwriting already looks good but it looks like my clones and I have a lot of practice to do."

"Don't worry Naruto-kun." said the redhead. "Where there's a will there's a way."

….

 **Hokage's Office**

The next morning the Third Hokage invited the Suna jonin Baki who was the Sensei of the Sand Siblings to his office. Baki bowed and said, "How may I be of service Hokage-sama? Your invitation was unexpected but I'm honored to meet you in person."

Sarutobi said, "Please have a seat Baki; there are a couple of points I wish to discuss with you about the upcoming Chunin Exams. All three of Rasa-sama's children are participating. It's quite a testament not only to their own abilities but your training as well."

Baki let out a breath of relief as he sat down. ' _I was afraid that Gaara killing Dosu had been discovered_.' "You are too kind Hokage-sama."

"Quite." said the Hokage as he pinned Baki with enough killing intent to freeze the man in place.

"H-hokage-S-sama…." choked out Baki as the God of Shinobi glared at him with wrath.

Sarutobi said in a conversational tone, "I do want you to understand that I called you here to convey a message to the Kazekage Rasa-sama when you get back to Suna. It's come to my attention that our Suna **_allies_** are amassing troops near the Fire Country Border. It would be….how to put it….an **_unfortunate mistake_** to think that Konoha is not **_more than ready_** for a two front war between Sound and _hypothetically_ our **_allies_** in Suna. This is all _hypothetical_ of course. You _do_ understand my meaning don't you Baki? A seasoned military man such as yourself must understand the delicacies of international politics."

"Y-yes Hokage-sama…." wheezed out the Suna jonin.

" _Wonderful_." said the Third Hokage as he ratcheted up the pressure. "As a word of friendly advice since we are **_allies_** and all; I would advise you to take your three charges and head back to Suna before the sun sets here in Konoha. With all the unfortunate accidents happening to our Chunin Exam competitors I fear for the safety of the Kazekage's no doubt _beloved_ children. As a matter of fact; I would make haste and be back in Wind Country _by this time tomorrow_. Any questions Baki?"

"N-no s-sir…." croaked out Baki. ' _I'm going to die at this rate!_ '

The killing intent stopped and Baki gasped for breath. Sarutobi Hiruzen had his back to the Suna jonin and was serenely looking out the window over his beloved Konoha. "I love my Village Baki and no doubt you love yours as well. Do make sure you relate my message to Rasa-sama. No doubt he would despair over the idea of the ruins of Suna Village being swallowed up by the desert sands and forgotten by time all because of a **_mistake_** involving Orochimaru."

"I w-will do just as you say Hokage-sama." said the shivering and perspiring Baki.

The Hokage replied, "Good; I'm so glad we had this little discussion. It's always good to keep the lines of communication open between **_allies_**. _Now_ _ **get out of my sight**_ _boy!_ "

Baki couldn't run away from the Hokage tower quickly enough. He was terrified of the God of Shinobi and with very good reason.

….

Temari, Kankuro and Gaara were all surprised when their sensei Baki returned white as a sheet and shivering. Baki told them, "The three of you _shut up_ and pack up everything. We are going back to Suna _immediately_. The plan has been discovered and we _cannot_ stay here in Konoha any longer. Hokage-sama told me we have until this time tomorrow to be back across the Wind Country border. _Now move!_ "

….

Baki led his three charges out of the village as soon as they bought supplies for their journey. Knowing the invasion plan hinged on the element of surprise, Baki felt Suna's participation in this undeclared war was over before it had even begun….

LONG POSTSCRIPT:

**Yes, the dream sequences were Kakashi and Ozpin conversing.

A lot of people were shocked by Kakashi's abrupt death last chapter but it was _meant_ to be abrupt. At this point in the canon story Kakashi is a washed up, depressed ninja. He really doesn't get his act even semi together until well after the time skip. I wanted a more dynamic Kakashi _now_. How to accomplish that? Combine him with the wise man on the hill Ozpin. Ozpin is a seasoned warrior and leader whose characteristics blend well with Kakashi's. He's also a teacher that Kakashi really isn't in the beginning. So depending on your point of view; we either have a wiser, more vibrant Kakashi or a perverted Icha Icha loving Ozpin that isn't afraid to actually get out and live his life.

A few side notes; I decided to give Pyrrha a knack for sealing. I don't know why but it seems to fit her to me. It will also give her and Naruto something to bond over. The Third Hokage has essentially thrown down the gauntlet with Suna; what will be the results of that gambit? Also what _exactly_ happened to Sasuke and Sakura? That's going to be a mystery for some time but answers will come eventually. As for adding other RWBY characters, Ozpin was one I considered for a long time but I wasn't sure I was going to add him in until last chapter was written. I really doubt more will be added because the whole soul merger business is awkward and cumbersome to write. (People have to die/be on the verge of death for it to happen and that's just for starters). Never say never though. See you next time. Blue out. 6/18/16


	10. Chapter 10

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Thanks to everyone for their continued support and many reviews. On that note, updates are going to slow down a bit because I have a backlog of other stories to update this coming month. This chapter is primarily build up for the upcoming war. Since the Chunin Exams have been cancelled we'll be seeing the many genin teams and what they are up to. Here is chapter 10. Enjoy!

Last time:

 _Sarutobi Hiruzen had his back to the Suna jonin and was serenely looking out the window over his beloved Konoha. "I love my Village Baki and no doubt you love yours as well. Do make sure you relate my message to Rasa-sama. No doubt he would despair over the idea of the ruins of Suna Village being swallowed up by the desert sands and forgotten by time all because of a_ _ **mistake**_ _involving Orochimaru."_

 _"_ _I w-will do just as you say Hokage-sama." said the shivering and perspiring Baki._

 _The Hokage replied, "Good; I'm so glad we had this little discussion. It's always good to keep the lines of communication open between_ _ **allies**_ _._ _Now_ _ **get out of my sight**_ _boy!_ _"_

 _Baki couldn't run away from the Hokage tower quickly enough. He was terrified of the God of Shinobi and with very good reason._

 _…_ _._

 _Temari, Kankuro and Gaara were all surprised when their sensei Baki returned white as a sheet and shivering. Baki told them, "The three of you_ _shut up_ _and pack up everything. We are going back to Suna_ _immediately_ _. The plan has been discovered and we_ _cannot_ _stay here in Konoha any longer. Hokage-sama told me we have until this time tomorrow to be back across the Wind Country border._ _Now move!_ _"_

 _…_ _._

 _Baki led his three charges out of the village as soon as they bought supplies for their journey. Knowing the invasion plan hinged on the element of surprise, Baki felt Suna's participation in this undeclared war was over before it had even begun…._

Chapter 10

 **Fire Country, the Village of Konoha**

Three days had passed since the Suna team left Konoha….and the last of the foreign Chunin Exam guests in Konoha Village had been sent on their way. It was now an open secret that Konoha was at war. No efforts were made to conceal the Konoha Ninja forces now. What few knew was ROOT had already been actively attacking Oto forces for a week and had inflicted horrendous losses on Orochimaru's unprepared forces. The First Division under command of Jiraiya was already headed towards Oto and would be at the Rice Country Border soon. The genins and their jonin senseis were staying behind to defend Konoha while the bulk of the Konoha forces marched on Oto. It had been astonishing to the populace given how long they had been at peace and Uchiha Sasuke being officially declared as a B rank Missing Nin and a traitor on top of that was also a shock to the system.

One person that should have been dancing a jig that a war was going on was Shimura Danzo, Commander of ROOT. Unfortunately for him Sarutobi Hiruzen had enough of his old rival's shenanigans and whipped the warhawk into line both figuratively and literally….

 _Flashback…._

 _The Hokage had a private training ground and Danzo was lying on the ground face down and beaten bloody by his old rival Sarutobi. Hiruzen was standing over the downed warhawk twirling his staff. Homura and Koharu were standing there looking absolutely flabbergasted at what they'd just witnessed. Hiruzen had invited Danzo to 'an old fashioned spar' and proceeded to kick Danzo's ass hard enough that his ancestors felt it. Danzo was a wreck._

 _"_ _When I told you to send out_ _ **all**_ _your ROOT forces to attack Oto; it was an_ _ **order**_ _, not a request." said the Hokage to his beaten foe. "You never did understand things without being beaten down Danzo, even back when Tobirama-sensei was training us. There is a reason_ _ **I**_ _am Hokage and you_ _ **never**_ _will be. Now, I want the third of your ROOT forces that are combat ready you've been holding in reserve as your personal army out there raining hell upon Oto as I_ _ **commanded**_ _. Let me make one thing crystal clear to you Shimura: if you don't start obeying and doing as you're told I'm personally going to rip that abomination of an arm of yours off and dig that sharingan eye you stole out with a dull, rusty kunai. Did you_ _ **truly**_ _think I haven't been watching you play games with Orochimaru? You live to serve Konoha and the Hokage and you_ _ **will**_ _. Do you have any questions for me Shimura Danzo?"_

 _"_ _N-no Hokage-sama…." groaned the beaten Danzo. "I am sorry Hiruzen….I was wrong…."_

 _Hiruzen turned to Koharu and Homura. "Do you two have any questions about the way things work? If you need to be_ _ **educated**_ _like our old friend here then by all means step forward."_

 _Both of them shook their heads rapidly and Homura said, "There is no need Hokage-sama. We support you fully." Koharu nodded rapidly in agreement._

 _Hiruzen nodded and said, "Good; then you two busybodies can haul Danzo's sorry carcass down to the hospital for treatment and make yourselves useful for a change."_

 _Flashback end…._

Danzo was hurting but he was doing as he was told. The **_God of Shinobi_** was back….and on the warpath.

….

 **Hokage's Office**

The next day the Third Hokage was taking care of some less weighty and more enjoyable things. "First of all I feel that recent events have proven both Blake Belladonna and Pyrrha Nikos to be trustworthy and dependable kunoichis with great potential. I am therefore removing your probationary status and assigning you each to a team. Well done and congratulations ladies." Both girls smiled happily at each other and Naruto beamed at them. "On that note; as a result of losses incurred a new Team 7 will be established. It is comprised of Jonin Hatake Kakashi, Genins Uzumaki Naruto, Pyrrha Nikos and Blake Belladonna. I'm looking forward to seeing your team develop. There is no doubt in my mind that you all have the drive to succeed and the _Will of Fire_ that our great village is known for."

….

"So Zombie-sensei, where do we start?" asked Naruto. The blonde had really been agonizing over Sakura but a large part of him believed Sasuke was responsible for her disappearance….and Uchiha Sasuke was in the **_Number One slot_** on Naruto's shit list. Blake-chan, Pyrrha-chan and Hinata-chan had helped Naruto out more than they realized just by being there for him. Thinking of Sakura hurt but somehow the blonde ninja was coming to grips with the idea that Sakura would never have romantic feelings towards him. He did still worry what happened to her though….

Kakashi turned to Naruto with a double eye smile and said, "The first thing we're going to do is go out to the Training Grounds where I want to test each of you individually. Then we're going to all sit down so there are no longer any secrets between us. This team is first and foremost going to _trust_ each other."

Naruto worried about his status as a jinchūriki but saw Blake looked just as worried as he did. Pyrrha said kindly, "Everything will be fine. I'm sure each of us has a lot to share." She was concerned the whole soul-merger business would frighten Naruto and she felt herself drawn to the blonde ninja. ' _This might be just a little bit awkward.'_ thought Pyrrha. _'I understand why Blake looks concerned because she thinks Naruto will judge her for being a faunus. Why would Naruto look so frightened though?_ '

….

 **Training Ground 8**

Since the Chunin Exams were officially cancelled Team 8 was having their first official team meeting in a while. They all met up at Training Ground 8. Shino arrived silently as usual. He'd learned a great deal from his Father Aburame Shibi since he'd last seen his teammates and was eager to see them (not that anyone could tell). A few minutes later Kiba and Akamaru came bounding up energetically as always. Kiba was both excited and worried. He'd been training with his Mother Tsume and his big sister Hana. Tsume had already headed out with Jiraiya's First Division. Hana was preparing to head off to war as well. Kiba understood that loyalty and duty were both paramount traits in the Inuzuka Clan but at the same time he was frightened about losing the two women closest to him. Akamaru felt the exact same way….

The two genins greeted each other and saw a beautiful girl in a red and gold battle dress come walking up with a sway in her hips. Shino's eyebrows rose as she walked directly towards them and Kiba was torn between wondering where Hinata was and checking out this hot chick. Kiba was about to say something _cool_ to impress this new girl when she blew his entire world view to smithereens by saying in a more sultry version of Hinata's voice, "Good morning Shino-kun, Kiba-kun, Akamaru. Has Kurenai-sensei arrived yet?"

" _H-h-hinata-chan?!_ " choked out Kiba. "Is that really you?"

Hinata tilted her head, smiled and said, "Of course it's me Kiba-kun. I've change my outfit but I haven't changed me…. _much_."

' _Oh yes you have!_ ' thought the bug eyed Kiba, Shino and Akamaru. "One moment Hinata." said Shino

Hinata watched in amusement as the three males shot away and got in a group huddle. " _Oh. My. God!_ " whispered Kiba with wide eyes. "Our little sister Hinata-chan has suddenly grown up into a _total babe!_ I feel dirty even saying these things! _What the hell has happened?!_ "

Shino was perspiring heavily and whispered back, "I for one am in total agreement with you. Our dear comrade Hinata has transformed from a wallflower into some kind of vixen! We must protect her."

"But who is going to protect _us_ from _her?_ " asked Kiba. Akamaru whined in agreement….

The Aburame heir nodded as one of his beetles returned to him. "I believe you have a valid point Kiba, even my insects are telling me she's _too hot to handle_."

"Your bugs think she's _hot?!_ " whispered Kiba loudly.

….Kurenai had arrived in the meantime and exchanged greetings with Hinata. "So what _are_ they doing Hinata-chan?"

Hinata said, "I believe they are discussing my new attire." and shrugged.

The Genjutsu Mistress sweat dropped remembering her own shocked reaction to Hinata's new battle dress and went over to the boy's huddle. ' _I guess it can't be helped_.' "Would you young gentleman care to join Hinata-chan and I for our team meeting?"

Shino looked over at Kurenai standing there looking beautiful as always and said, "We males are having a minor crises right now. Please wait just a few moments sensei."

Kurenai raised an eyebrow as she overheard Kiba whisper, "It is bad enough having a totally hot sensei but now Hinata-chan too? I don't think my heart can take it."

Shino replied, "We must focus on things other than _dangerous curves_ Kiba." (Kurenai face palmed at that comment). "It is our duty to protect our fellow team members and not to be driven to distraction by their…. _assets_." (Kurenai shook her head and walked back over to Hinata at that point).

Seeing the incredulous look on her sensei's face Hinata asked, "Are they going to join us sensei?"

Kurenai rolled her eyes. "Sadly they are having a ' _crisis_ ' as Shino put it. We'll just have to wait until the boys have calmed themselves down."

….

 **Training Ground 9**

Maito Gai was sitting in front of Neji and Tenten. "The unyouthful actions of our enemies have left Lee-kun injured and that will have to be dealt with by our medics. Neji-kun, I am afraid that your chance to display your _Flames of Youth_ in the Chunin Exams has been denied this time. Do not despair my disciple. You are still in the _Springtime of Youth!_ Tenten-chan, since you have fully recovered from your previous injuries we need to work hard to stoke your _Flames of Youth_ as well. Never fear, Neji-kun and I are here for you. We will also be visiting Lee-kun when we can to show our support to him in his time of need."

Tenten asked, "Gai-sensei, what will our duties be since the bulk of our forces are at war?"

"An excellent question Tenten-chan." said the Green Beast. "Our duties are primarily going to be geared towards patrol and guard missions. While these jobs are not glorious; they are vital to Konoha's security! Also we must do our best to do Lee-kun's part as he cannot participate."

Neji shook his head and thought to himself, _'It seems Lee's fate is set in stone. He wasn't meant to be a ninja any more than that failure Hinata-sama or that fool Uzumaki_.' "Are we going to get someone to replace Lee-sensei?" Seeing the look of horror on his sensei's face Neji quickly covered his faux pas by adding, "I mean temporarily until Lee is well."

Tenten saw her sensei's body lose its tenseness and let out a breath of relief. The possibility of an _Explosion of Youth_ absolutely terrified the weapons loving kunoichi. She said, "Lee is irreplaceable but it might be a good idea to get a temporary teammate just in case."

Gai stroked his chin. "Perhaps you are right my students. It would be unyouthful to not err on the side of caution in these trying times. My _Eternal Rival_ went so far as to come back from the dead to prove his dedication. Curse him and infernal hipness! How am I _ever_ going to top that?!"

"Ummm….Speaking of which, how is Kakashi-sensei?" asked Tenten. "I mean, he was dead and all…."

Gai answered, "My _Eternal Rival_ has been reborn like a phoenix! His youth is blinding as it was when we were children. He expressed the desire to train hard with me to get back into shape like he used to be. I will strive to match his youthfulness and improve myself as well. Today he is meeting his new team."

Neji snorted. "It seems Team 7 was fated to fail. One turned traitor, another vanished and Kakashi died….temporarily….and don't get me started on that failure Uzumaki."

Tenten sighed. ' _Neji's obsession with fate is still going strong. He'd be dateable otherwise_.'

Gai simply said, "Neji-kun; you will see the truth one day or my name isn't Maito Gai. I believe in Kakashi just as I do Lee-kun. After this war ends our genin teams should have a youthful, _if unofficial_ , tournament to stoke our _Flames of Youth!_ Perhaps you can test yourself against young Uzumaki Naruto after all."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Kakashi decided that Training Ground 52 was preferable for Team 7 since Training Ground 7 had bad memories for both Naruto and himself. Besides, the kids just kind of led him here automatically as they'd more or less claimed the place for themselves. He tested their affinities with chakra paper and confirmed Naruto's wind affinity was off the charts as Jiraiya had indicated. Kakashi didn't mention the possibility of Typhoon Release because Jiraiya hadn't completed his research on the subject yet. Pyrrha's affinities were both equally high in wind and earth and it had already been proven that she had the power of Magnet Release. That was all expected by Kakashi. Blake shocked him though.

"Your primary affinity is Yin Blake -but you seem to have a minor affinity for all elements." said Kakashi looking at the pitch black chakra paper. "This is a higher affinity than a Nara's. No wonder your ability with genjutsu is so high….Still, that doesn't explain why you can make earth, water and mud clones so effortlessly. Try an ice clone. Focus on it as if were your semblance."

Blake flipped backwards and in her place was a clone of ice formed as if she possessed the Ice Release. She smiled and said, "Let me try a clone of fire." She sidestepped and a clone appeared but when it was hit with a shuriken it turned into a fireball and scorched the earth. "It seems I can will any element I want into a clone sensei."

Kakashi's eyebrows shot up as he soaked up the massive tactical advantages having all the elements at their fingertips. "With this team we have offensive and defensive abilities through ninjutsu and genjutsu that are simply staggering." he thought aloud.

"You seem rather pleased Kakashi-sensei." said Pyrrha in her usual polite manner. The smile on her face was rather telling of her amusement.

The silver haired jonin gave a double eye smile and said, "It's a shame we don't have certain _special_ weapons like the Gambol Shroud."

Naruto looked confused but Blake said, "Actually we may have them soon thanks to Hinata."

"What do you mean by _thanks to Hinata_?" asked a confused Kakashi thinking of Cinder Fall.

"Hinata was kind enough to place an order for a new Gambol Shroud for Blake and a new Miló and Akoúo̱ for me." said the resident redhead. "They are made of chakra metal so they should have many of the same capabilities of the originals. She's even paying for them."

"My question is why she did this…." said Kakashi.

Blake explained, "Hinata said it is a way of trying to make amends with Pyrrha and I."

"I thought you were all already friends with each other Blake-chan." said Naruto.

"There is a lot to explain…." said Pyrrha.

"Perhaps it's time we all had a good _talk_." said Kakashi. Pyrrha nodded, Blake looked concerned and Naruto looked confused. "There is a lot you don't know about yet Naruto. You deserve the truth about…. _Remnant_."

"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei….?" asked the blonde prankster.

….

 **Yakiniku Q Restaurant**

Asuma was sitting with Team 10. Shikamaru had been practicing for the Chunin Exams and was relieved that it had been called off. It was all just too troublesome for his tastes. The _main_ concern of the whole team was taking care of their kunoichi teammate though. Ino was still distraught over the situation with Sakura and honestly _wanted_ to deny Sasuke was a traitor. However, since the Yamanakas specialized in mind jutsus she realized the scenario of Sasuke snapping wasn't impossible. After a long talk with her Father Inoichi the blonde kunoichi concluded that Sasuke losing his mind was actually a _probable_ thing to happen given the childhood trauma he'd experienced. ' _Sasuke never should have become a ninja. It is sad but Kakashi would have no reason to falsify such things._ ' Still, Ino was saddened by the loss of the boy she was infatuated with.

The thought creeping through Ino's subconscious was the death of Sakura's parents and likewise her disappearance were connected with Sasuke or worse Sasuke had actually committed the crimes _himself_. ' _Orochimaru sent his people to kill Naruto as well. This is all Orochimaru's doing. But Sasuke-kun tried to kill Kakashi-sensei….I wish it had never happened. Somehow Orochimaru caused Sasuke-kun to crack….(sniff) Sakura-chan is gone….and Sasuke is the enemy_.' Ino was shaken out of her musings by Choji placing his hand on her shoulder with compassion in his eyes. She saw Shikamaru and Asuma both looked equally concerned. Ino hugged Choji and let the tears fall quietly. "Thank you….all of you."

It took a while for Ino to calm down but the food soon arrived and Asuma soon started outlining their new training and what their duties were defending Konoha. They would commence regular patrols in the next couple of days once the jobs had been doled out. The Second Division was leaving tonight so there would be plenty of work for the genins to do.

In the meantime Asuma decided some light sparring was in order but keeping everyone's spirits up was paramount as far as the cigarette smoking jonin was concerned.

….

 **Training Ground 52**

"….So this Remnant place; what exactly happened to it after you all….well, died?" asked Naruto. It had taken some time to convince Naruto that this wasn't some prank -and that his friends and sensei weren't zombies. "This all so totally fucked up." he said holding his head.

"Believe me, having been dead and waking up in my own coffin was really a defining moment for me." said Kakashi with a sweat drop. "On that note; I'm going to get out the White Light Chakra Sabre and see if it can be reforged.**"

"In answer to your question we don't really know what happened back in Remnant Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha kindly. "We wanted you to understand the truth about things and where we are all from."

Kakashi could see that Blake was still worried about her status as a faunus and Naruto had a hand over his seal that kept the Kyubi in check. ' _They aren't ready for that step yet. Well, we'll take it one day at a time_.' "Alright everybody, we're good and rested from our chat so let's get in some sparring. Naruto, you are up first. I want to see some of what Jiraiya-sama has taught you. Let's stick with weapons and taijutsu, no ninjutsus."

Naruto stood up and smiled at his teacher. "Let's get wild Kakashi-sensei!" he rapidly spun two kunai in each hand and eagerly charged his teacher. Kakashi blocked the kunai with his own only to realize Naruto was streaming wind chakra through his whirling weapons forming two discs of cutting wind.

Kakashi barely blocked the discs of death using chakra to reinforce his own kunai. He snap kicked Naruto back but the blonde flipped back and landed on his feet. ' _Good gods what has Jiraiya been teaching him?! That should have flattened a genin. He's_ _ **far**_ _stronger than Sasuke was before the little traitor killed me_ ….' Naruto edged his feet with enough wind chakra that it was visible to the naked eye and tried a roundhouse kick that Kakashi dodged but felt the fabric of his uniform rip. Kakashi smiled a jumped back. "Looks like I'm actually going to have to be _semi_ serious." The jonin moved swiftly inside Naruto's guard but Naruto folded into the splits to avoid getting punched. Naruto went for a foot sweep that Kakashi avoided easily with a hop. When Naruto rolled back to his feet he found Kakashi was waiting for him. The jonin shot behind Naruto too fast for the blonde to react and kicked the orange prankster in the back sending the boy flying. Kakashi saw Naruto land and roll to his feet after a controlled shoulder roll and Naruto charged. After about ten minutes Kakashi held up his hand to stop. " _Well done Naruto!_ " said Kakashi with enthusiasm Naruto never thought he'd hear from his sensei. Both girls cheered. The blonde genin beamed at the praise.

Kakashi motioned Naruto to sit with the girls and said, "Which one of you ladies would like to go first?"

Blake was going to hop to her feet but found Pyrrha was already standing. "I would be honored sensei." The impeccable politeness of Pyrrha's speech barely hid the fire in her green eyes to prove herself. Kakashi motioned her forward and she got her weapons in a ready position. Nodding to begin Kakashi found himself under a rapid flurry of sword strikes that he parried with kunai followed be a hard shield charge from Pyrrha that caused his eyes to widen.

Kakashi leapt over Pyrrha's rapid charge and landed behind her only to get mule kicked. ' _Ouch. Her situational awareness is superb as always_.' Kakashi took the offensive but Pyrrha used her shield to deflect the force of the blows. For several minutes things were at an impasse until Kakashi took the full offensive. The redhead countered with a spin kick that knocked Kakish back. She attempted another to follow up but the jonin anticipated her move and caught her foot before he sent her flying. Pyrrha corrected her attitude in flight and hit a branch feet first before using it as a springboard to launch herself back at her sensei. The silver haired jonin rolled out of the way of the red haired meteor as she shot by in a blur. Using chakra to regain her traction, Pyrrha was up in the ready position when she saw Kakashi signal to stop. " _Excellent Pyrrha_ , I was afraid having a younger body would make you lose your fighting edge but that's not the case at all."

Pyyrha smiled and bowed, "Thank you for your praise sensei."

As she sat down by Naruto and Blake the blonde ninja said, "You were awesome Pyrrha-chan!" Blake smiled and nodded in agreement.

The jonin thought to himself, ' _If Blake's speed is on par with what it was she'll be deadly, I'd better gauge her at a higher speed than the others_.' "Come when you are ready Blake." said Kakashi with a double eye smile.

Blake disappeared from her sitting position, appeared above Kakashi and shot downwards at Kakashi from above. Seeing the cat eared girl screaming down upon him with a heel drop he crossed his kunai above him and deflected her backwards. Blake soared and flipped backwards nimbly landing on her feet. Kakashi charged at her and jumped over a brace of shuriken she shot at him. His eyes widened as he came into land as the black haired girl was under him with a scissor kick that sent him airborne again. ' _It seems Miss Belladonna's edge hasn't been lost either_.' thought Kakashi as he righted himself midair and launched a pair of kunai Blake had to deflect with her katana. He shot towards her and she met him halfway in a zigzag pattern. To Blake's credit she kept her momentum up but she didn't have the raw speed Kakashi did and after several minutes was sent cart wheeling across the training grounds. She got up and prepared to renew her assault but Kakashi motioned for her to stop. " _Very good Blake_. Not once did you attack me from the same angle and in spite of me increasing my speed way beyond chunin you kept up well."

"Way to go Blake-chan!" cheered Naruto.

Pyrrha said, "Yes Blake, you did very well."

As Blake sat back down between Pyrrha and Naruto; Kakashi said, "You've all exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. This team is practically _built_ for speed. Tonight I'm going to start outlining a training regimen for all of you. I have notes from Kurenai, Anko and Jiraiya-sama so I think those will be a good starting point. Meet me here at 7 A.M. in the morning."

"Do you mean 7 or 10 Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto skeptically.

"No more tardiness for me Naruto. I'll see you three at 7 A.M. sharp." With that the silver haired jonin vanished in a body flicker.

"Why did you ask him about 10 A.M. Naruto-kun?" asked Blake.

Naruto shrugged. "Kakashi-sensei was habitually three hours late for everything except missions and I wanted to check. He really seems to have changed. He always seemed so down and depressed. I'm looking forward to getting to know the new Kakashi/Ozpin-sensei."

….

 **The Fire Country/Rice Country Border**

Jiraiya was addressing his jonins of the First Division. "We can expect much stiffer resistance once we enter Rice Country. The majority of the enemy's bases are underground in Oto according to our intelligence. Our advanced forces are already striking behind their lines and disrupting their communications and logistics. Our Second Division should leave Konoha tonight. They will comprise the other half of the pincer when we hit Oto Village itself in four days."

Nara Shikaku spoke up. "In spite of the fact we are ahead of schedule we're going to keep going come first light. The harassment raids behind enemy lines should keep the enemy up all night and unbalanced while we are going to be fully rested. With the momentum we have there is little reason to hold back as long as we don't expose our flanks."

"What about Suna?" asked Inuzuka Tsume.

"Their forces have fallen back well behind the Wind Country borders." said Jiraiya. "If we're lucky they'll stay out of it but we can't afford to let our guards down."

"In a worst case scenario the Second Division could intercept incoming Suna forces." said Shikaku. "That's way we have two divisions plus our reserves. We will not fail."

….

 **Konoha, the Yamanaka Residence**

Ino got home from Team practice and felt a bit better about things. Her teammates were her friends and they had been very supportive. She thought about her Father Inoichi and how the original Ino-Shika-Cho left with Jiraiya and the First Division. Coming in she saw her Mother Ayano was in the kitchen making dinner. "Mom, I'm home!" said the blonde kunoichi.

"Welcome home Ino-chan." said Ayano. "How was your day?"

Ino smiled softly and said, "It was….It was good. I'm lucky to have my Team."

Ayano smiled. "I'm glad Ino-chan. Pyyrha-chan got home a few moments ago and is showering. She looked like she'd be playing in the dirt." she added with a chuckle.

Ino laughed and sat down. "For all her ladylike manners, Pyrrha-chan is quite the tomboy when it comes to training. She must have been with Blake."

Pyrrha soon came out of the shower in her civilian clothes. "Hello Ino-chan! How are you doing today? The shower is yours whenever you are ready."

"I'm okay; who is watching over your training?" asked the blonde. "Did Hokage-sama assign somebody to help?"

The redhead said, "Naruto-kun, Blake and I are training under Kakashi-sensei. Due to the recent tragic events a new Team 7 had to be formed."

Ino looked a little downcast but said, "That makes sense forming a new genin cell. How is Kakashi-sensei? Sakura-chan always said he was really lazy."

Pyrrha chuckled, "He seems quite lively. He claimed that waking up at his own funeral was rather life changing for him."

Ayano shook her head. "Only Kakashi…."

….

 **The Hyūga Compound**

Hinata was putting her things away for the night and was about to go to bed when there was a knock on her door. Hinata slipped her yukata back on over her chemise and answered the door where she was slightly surprised to see her Father Hiashi dressed in his Konoha jonin uniform. Hiashi said, "If you have a few minutes I'd like to talk before I go Hinata-chan."

Hinata raised an eyebrow and invited her Father in. "I wasn't expecting to see you before you left Hiashi-sama." said the heiress as she quietly closed the door behind him. "What brings you here?"

Hiashi said in a quiet tone, "I came to see the Clan Heiress and more importantly my beloved daughter before I departed for war." Her eyes widened slightly at his choice of words. Hiashi said, "Hinata-chan; our relationship has been very strained of late and I am to blame. I want you to know that I love you and Hanabi-chan with all my heart and that the two of you are my greatest treasures. I am very proud of you and I know you can take care of the clan in my absence. Should the worst happen to me you have my permission to get rid of the Caged Bird Seal by force if necessary. I know you will do the right thing Hinata-chan."

He was surprised when Hinata hugged him and said, "Do not talk as if you are not coming back Father."

Hiashi embraced his daughter and said, "That's the first time you've addressed me as Father since the Chunin Exams. When I come home I want to mend our broken relationship Hinata-chan." The Father and daughter held each other in silence before they separated and Hiashi said, "You are becoming as beautiful as your Mother was Hinata-chan. I will see you when I return." Then they bid each other a quiet farewell.

Hinata sat on her futon after her Father left and thought to herself, ' _Perhaps we can patch things up. Being closer to Father would be….nice_.'

….

 **Rice Country, the Village of Oto**

Orochimaru was looking over his maps of Rice Country. Today had been an epic failure. Something went wrong with the Edo Tensei. The Snake Sanin's intention to unleash the First Hokage on the Konoha forces led by his ex-teammate Jiraiya only revealed a coffin filled with blood, dirt and ash. Orochimaru was baffled. ' _It should have worked perfectly! I thought I perfected the jutsu. My efforts to gain the First and Second Hokages is a failure and I don't have the materials to try again_.' Fortunately for the Konoha forces he didn't try to summon the Second Hokage….

Kabuto entered with the latest set of battle reports. "The last of our forces that were hidden in Fire Country have been destroyed Orochimaru-sama. They are taking no prisoners. As you predicted; without the element of surprise our forces are inadequate against Konoha's in a straight up fight. Should we fall back to our Northern Base with our vital personnel?"

Orochimaru growled. "I can't believe this has happened! There must be a spy in our midst or Suna betrayed us."

"Is there any hope of convincing Suna to attack Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto.

The snake summoner shook his head. "Short of me killing the Kazekage and taking his place as I originally planned there is no chance of that happening. All attempts at reaching Rasa-sama have resulted in nothing. We are on our own Kabuto. I want you to personally supervise moving the labs and their equipment to the north."

Kabuto nodded. "What of all the prisoners for future experimentation we procured? Moving them would be a logistical nightmare."

"Leave them behind." said Orochimaru. "When Jiraiya finds them and 'liberates' them it will bog down the Konoha forces enough that the core of our army can withdraw intact." ' _Damn you Sarutobi-sensei. It will take a decade to rebuild from this disaster_.' "Still, I'll have to go out and battle Jiraiya along with our….more _disposable_ forces. We have to at least put up an effort to stall Konoha or Oto Village will be overrun before we can pull my precious research out."

….

 **Fire Country, Tanzaku Gai**

A busty blonde woman came walking out of the bank in Tanzaku Gai with a pale, shocked look on her face and walked over to the hotel across the street. A dark haired young woman holding a pet pig met her in the lounge of the hotel. "What is wrong Tsunade-sama?" asked the dark haired woman. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Tsunade sat down at a table and said, "It's worse than that Shizune-chan, all the Senju bank accounts have been frozen. I can't withdraw any more money to gamble with!"

Shizune sweat dropped. "More importantly, _what about food?!_ " Tsunade handed a bank statement printout to Shizune who sat the pig down and started reading it over. "According to this, Konoha froze your assets by the orders of Sarutobi-sama. The only way to get it unfrozen is to see Hokage-sama personally."

Tsunade got the mental image of her old sensei cackling evilly as he signed the orders to take her money. ' _Take that Tsunade-chan!_ ' laughed the Sarutobi in her mind's eye. (Coincidentally he had glowing eyes, fangs and horns that protruded through his Hokage's hat).

" ** _Curse you Sarutobi-sensei!_** " yelled Tsunade. ' _Now I have to go home!_ '

….

POSTSCRIPT:

**The White Light Chakra Sabre was Kakashi's Tanto destroyed in the Third Shinobi War. In the manga it was never seen again but it popped up again in the anime only. I figure Kakashi would have kept using his Father's blade if it was intact so we're breaking it out of the tool shed where Kakashi has been using it as gardening tool for over a decade (and his ancestors are spinning in their graves). Anyway, it will be reforged soon (much like Kakashi). I'm pondering the idea giving Naruto a Remnant style weapon as well but I haven't decided yet.

A lot of jumping around this chapter but I'm trying to cover all the bases. Special thanks goes out to **Ryuujin96** for the future genin tournament idea. Next chapter will be the beginnings of the Konoha/Oto War. It seems that Orochimaru is simply planning to fight a delaying action to keep his forces intact. The question is whether or not Jiraiya is willing to let his traitorous ex-teammate go that easily. See you next time. Blue out. 6/22/16


	11. Chapter 11

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Welcome to chapter 11! This chapter basically wrote itself and we're going to see some of the opening moves in the Konoha/Oto War. I am going to delve into tactics a bit but not too much as that isn't the main focus of the story. Major events will occur but I'm not planning on stretching the War Arc out too much. The main thing shown will be the highlights of the various battles. (In other words, if Izumo and Kotetsu are guarding a latrine in the middle of nowhere I probably won't dedicate half a chapter to it). Enjoy!

Last time:

 ** _Fire Country, Tanzaku Gai_**

 _A busty blonde woman came walking out of the bank in Tanzaku Gai with a pale, shocked look on her face and walked over to the hotel across the street. A dark haired young woman holding a pet pig met her in the lounge of the hotel. "What is wrong Tsunade-sama?" asked the dark haired woman. "You look like you've seen a ghost."_

 _Tsunade sat down at a table and said, "It's worse than that Shizune-chan, all the Senju bank accounts have been frozen. I can't withdraw any more money to gamble with!"_

 _Shizune sweat dropped. "More importantly,_ _what about food?!_ _" Tsunade handed a bank statement printout to Shizune who sat the pig down and started reading it over. "According to this, Konoha froze your assets by the orders of Sarutobi-sama. The only way to get it unfrozen is to see Hokage-sama personally."_

 _Tsunade got the mental image of her old sensei cackling evilly as he signed the orders to take her money. '_ _Take that Tsunade-chan!_ _' laughed the Sarutobi in her mind's eye. (Coincidentally he had glowing eyes, fangs and horns that protruded through his Hokage's hat)._

 _"_ _ **Curse you Sarutobi-sensei!**_ _" yelled Tsunade. '_ _Now I have to go home!_ _'_

Chapter 11

 **Konoha, Outer Wall**

Early in the morning Team 8 was on patrol around the Hokage monument when Hinata giggled. Kurenai smiled at her favorite student and asked, "What has you so tickled Hinata-chan?"

"I was just thinking about Naruto-kun redecorating the Hokage Monument before we became genins." said Hinata. "It was quite a spectacle. The chunins and ANBU chased him for three hours before Iruka-sensei caught up with him."

Kurenai shook her head, "I was out on a mission at the time but when I got back it sounded like Uzumaki Naruto turned the whole village upside down."

"Yeah, that cost me my allowance that week." said Kiba. "I bet him twenty ryo that he couldn't pull it off but he proved me wrong."

Shino said in his usual monotone, "So that's what you were lamenting about that day. I always wondered."

Their morning patrol route proved to be peaceful and the group chatted quietly as they looked around. "The village is so quiet." said Kiba. "It's kind of eerie."

Kurenai said, "Konoha hasn't been in a major conflict in a long time. Back when the Third Shinobi War was going on it was often quiet like this. In the mornings people tended to stay in unless they had to come out. It's very sobering knowing your friends and loved ones are putting their lives on the line. I was a genin back then and my team was always on the dawn patrols. I always thought of the sun rising to be a reminder that a better tomorrow will come. I find it reassuring. My teammates Raidō and Asuma hated to get up so early though." Kurenai chuckled. "That seems like ages ago now."

"Do you mean Asuma-sensei was on your genin team?" asked Kiba.

The Genjutsu Mistress nodded. "I've known Sarutobi Asuma since we were children. It really takes me back since we once patrolled just like this."

….

 **Konoha Strict Correctional Facility****

The quiet over Konoha was everywhere; even the prison. As there was a war on many of the prison guards were called away to active duty and the prison was short on manpower. "This will be too easy." said Mizuki. The former chunin and Academy Sensei saw the lapse in Konoha's defense forces as a golden opportunity to escape by staging a prison riot. He quietly said to the group he'd gathered, "This is the time everybody. With so few guards and just a few genin weaklings patrolling around the village escaping will be a cakewalk." He'd convinced several others to join him since most of the village was unprotected compared to normal. Mizuki had been biding his time ever since he received the instructions from Orochimaru to create a chemical called the Animal Curse Seal which would increase his strength and power. ' _With this power I'll be unbeatable_.' he thought greedily. The crooked ex-chunin hoped to use this power to get revenge on Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto who were responsible for his incarceration. ' _If it hadn't been for those two I would have escaped with the Forbidden Scroll and would have delivered it to Orochimaru-sama without issue. Damn Iruka and that brat! Taking revenge on them is going to be a pleasure_.'

When the prison riot took place most of the village was still asleep. The general alarm didn't go off due to the siren being sabotaged so the Konoha forces didn't even know to respond. Nevertheless, the prisoners found the 'easy escape' to be like running a gauntlet. Most of the rioters were brutally beaten down before they escaped and only three or four actually succeeded in breaking out. Mizuki was one of them. He managed to escape but found the 'genin weaklings' he'd thought of with such derision were a _lot_ more dangerous than he expected. It took some time to throw off his pursuers. Twice he was nearly caught before the genin teams were recalled to regroup.

Team 8 was among them and figuring out which prisoners actually escaped was difficult until the rioters were all subdued and tied up for an actual head count. Kurenai said to her team, "Our team managed to subdue six prisoners and the numbers are in. Only three actually escaped in total. She held up the pictures of the escapees and said, "Since our specialty is tracking we have to go after one of them. Which do we want?" All three genins pointed to the picture of Mizuki without hesitation and Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "You all know this one? I remember him."

"He used to be our Academy Sensei before he disappeared." said Kiba.

Shino nodded, "Imprisonment would explain why he fell of the face of the earth."

Hinata smiled meanly and said, "It seems he still isn't done misbehaving and needs a detention."

Kurenai hid her smile and said, "We'll take Mizuki then." After verifying things with the warden Team 8 set out after their quarry….

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Blake was getting her gear on for her first morning team training. ' _I wonder how Anko nee-chan is? The Second Division left last night. I hope she stays safe_.' Blake looked in the mirror. She had everything on but her bow. She moved her ears a bit. "I wonder if these will freak Naruto-kun out? Of course then again he smells like a fox…." she thought aloud. After she put on her bow, Blake grabbed her katana and her kusarigama. Focusing her amber eyes, she said to the mirror, "Ready."

The faunus girl was soon roof hopping across the village at high speed towards the training grounds when she saw somebody she knew. It was Tenten whose Father was crafting the new Gambol Shroud for her. Blake liked Tenten. The bun haired girl took being a kunoichi seriously. "Good morning Tenten. Are you headed out to train?" asked Blake as she landed on the same roof as Tenten.

Tenten turned and said, "Blake, it's good to see you. Got any more cool weapons to craft? My Dad and I were working on your Gambol Shroud last night. It's so cool to work on new and challenging weapon designs!"

Blake smiled softly at Tenten's enthusiasm. "I'm sure it will turn out great. Are you waiting for someone here on the rooftops? I was headed out to meet my sensei."

"You have a full time sensei now?" asked Tenten. Seeing Blake nod, the bun haired girl said. "Good for you. Who is it?"

"I'm under Hatake Kakashi on the new Team 7….He kind of woke up at his own funeral if you haven't heard of him…." Blake added with a sweat drop.

"That was quite a sight I heard….Well, anyway I'm waiting on me teammate Neji." explained Tenten. "He should be here shortly. My sensei always works out a couple of hours before Neji and I meet up with him."

"Well, I'd best get going." said Blake to the weapons loving girl. "See you later!" said the cat eared girl with a wave as she darted off.

Neji showed up a few minutes later and said to Tenten, "Good morning Tenten; who was that kunoichi you were talking to?"

The weapons loving girl said, "That was Blake Belladonna. She's a new genin that just joined Konoha recently."

The Hyūga prodigy said, "Hmmm….she looks _exceptionally fit_. I wonder if she could replace Lee."

Tenten raised an eyebrow at Neji's choice of words. "She's a replacement member on Team 7."

"Isn't that sensei's _Eternal Rival_ Kakashi's team that recently self destructed?" asked Neji. At Tenten's nod he said, "Seems like she's wasting her talent there. Hopefully fate will get her off that team with that loser Uzumaki."

The bun haired girl sighed and shook her head. "Let's just go meet sensei." she said before she took off leaving Neji behind still looking in the direction Blake left in.

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha was up early and fixed herself some breakfast before doing some warm ups in the back yard. Donning her gear she checked on both Ino and Ayano before she left to meet her team. ' _They seem to be sleeping peacefully_.' Picking up her sword and shield she paused as she thought of Jaune Arc. ' _My chances with Jaune were lost when I died. I wonder if he's alive and well? Maybe he finally won Weiss Schnee's affections. He deserves someone that really cares for him like I did_.' The redhead sighed. ' _Someday I'll leave my past behind. I'm amazed at how much Naruto reminds me of him_.'

Leaving through the front of the Flower Shop, Pyrrha was soon on her way when she saw an orange blur ahead of her on the village wall. Moving to intercept she saw Naruto screech to a halt in front of her. He said with a smile, "Good morning Pyrrha-chan; ready for a day of training hard?"

The redhead smiled. "You seem very eager this morning Naruto-kun. Why are you running? We're not late."

Naruto explained, "I was getting in my morning laps around Konoha and just decided to head straight to the training grounds when I saw you here and stopped to see how you were doing."

The two headed off towards Training Ground 52 at a moderate pace. "Once we get a routine going with Kakashi-sensei the two of us should arrange to spend some time together." She raised her eyebrows at Naruto's declaration before he added, "We're going to be the best seal master's ever!"

Pyrrha laughed at Naruto's antics and said, "Let's race!" as she took off in a blur. ' _Naruto-kun is something else. I thought he meant a date or something_.' she thought with a chuckle as Naruto pursued her towards the training grounds. The pair shot through the trees at high speeds and Pyrrha managed to keep a lead most of the way. The redhead came to a stop and saw Blake sitting under the tree they usually met at. "Victory is mine!" cheered Pyrrha as Naruto caught up.

"Blake-chan; Pyrrha-chan cheated and left me in the dirt before she even announced it was a race!" lamented Naruto.

Blake simply said, "Well, we _are_ ninjas. Aren't we supposed to cheat?" Naruto promptly face faulted as Pyrrha laughed.

"I see everyone is here a bit early." said Kakashi as he arrived in a body flicker. To say the jonin was disheveled was an understatement.

Pyrrha raised her eyebrows. "Are you alright Kakashi-sensei?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"I got a little dirty sparring with Gai this morning." explained Kakashi. "I'm fine but I'm a lot rustier than I thought. We're all going to be working hard when we're not doing missions. Now my students; let start with a good warm up."

….

 **Rice Country Border**

It was morning and the Konoha forces had invaded Oto territory at first light. They'd already been fighting the Oto forces for nearly three hours. Jiraiya was on the front lines and had just stopped an attempted charge by the Oto forces in the area with his Swamp of the underworld jutsu. A giant snake summon was spearheading the charge but the giant toad Gamaken's sasumata came crashing down upon the head of the snake and killed it in an instant. The stiffest opposition in the Oto lines began to implode and collapse. They quickly withdrew back into a valley to escape. The Konoha forces were going to give chase but Jiraiya called for a halt. "Hold your positions! They are leading us into that valley to ambush us. He motioned to one of his Hyūga scouts. "Look at the mountains overlooking that valley for enemy troops."

The Hyūga focused his byakugan and said, "Midway up the valley the walls are lined with entrenched fortifications. That place is a death trap."

Jiraiya nodded and turned to Shikaku. "Help me here Shikaku. How can we wipe out that valley in one fell swoop? No survivors."

The Nara Clan head looked over the terrain. "That valley was created by overflow from the nearby river. If we blow the dam holding the water back that whole valley will be flooded beyond use."

The Toad sanin nodded grimly. "Let's make it happen then."

Thirty minutes later what only could be call a tidal wave from the river swept through the valley as Konoha forces followed the deluge in on either side of the flooded valley to wipe out any surviving Oto troops that escaped being drowned or crushed by the wayward river. When the water settled down hours later the whole valley floodplain was a watery grave for hundreds of Oto ninjas and the Konoha ninjas stood victorious.

Jiraiya and Shikaku started checking the maps for other areas that Blake had mapped out from Kin's memories of the area. Pointing out a particular stronghold Shikaku said, "This is the main supply center in this region. If we capture it and close it down the enemy will starve if they don't withdraw."

Choza looked over his old friend's shoulder. "Keeping this area supplied is bad enough given the area is flooded now. If we capture that hub then it will become impossible for Oto to support sustained operations in the area."

"This can't be all Orochimaru has in the region." thought Jiraiya aloud. "The Snake is hardly putting up a fight."

….

 **Konoha, With Mizuki….**

The first thing Mizuki did after he lost his immediate pursuers was to go to his ex-fiancé Tsubaki's house to get some supplies and a change of clothes. He found that was an easy enough task to break in as she was off to war. He saw all the decorations of pictures of him had been conspicuously removed. He also saw a picture of someone he hated with Tsubaki. It was Umino Iruka. ' ** _Damn that bitch!_** _She dumped me for that bastard_ _ **Iruka**_ _! After I kill Iruka I'll take_ _ **good care**_ _of her as well_.' Mizuki wanted to wreck the place just to spite her but he knew that making noise would attract attention and calmed himself down. Mizuki heard a tracking team go by outside and focused back on escaping. Knowing he was actively being hunted and needed an edge; Mizuki decided to go over to a storage lab used by the Nara Clan to steal the components necessary to concoct the potion to enhance his strength. Orochimaru's instructions were very specific to go there. _'I never even knew about this place the Naras have_.' thought the crooked ex-sensei as he crept out and headed over to the Nara Clan lands.

It took a while but Mizuki located the lab. It looked like an ordinary storage shed from the outside. The actual lab was underground. As it was the lab was unguarded and once again Mizuki was fortunate enough to be able to break in without drawing attention to himself. Once he gathered the necessary components in Orochimaru's instructions Mizuki carefully started concocting the chemical called the Animal Curse Seal. He was quite convinced would make him invincible. ' _All I need to do is let the chemical cool and then drink it. It should be like an elixir. I should be able to practically walk out of Konoha at my leisure with the power I'll have at my fingertips_.'

It was originally Mizuki's intention to join up with Orochimaru but he decided that it wouldn't be necessary until this war was over. ' _Once everything settles down I'll see about finding Orochimaru-sama. It would be stupid just to walk into a war zone_.' It took time to make the chemical but once he had; Mizuki ingested it as quickly as possible. The effects were immediate and quite painful. The ex-sensei howled in agony as he grew in both strength and power and his arms gained a great deal of mass as well as claws. His body took on many tiger like elements such as fur, stripes and a burnt orange coloration. The former prisoner looked like a humanoid tiger now. Mizuki panted in pain from the rather grotesque transformation and reveled in the power now coursing through his body….

….

It was about that time that Team 8 managed to track him down. "I still don't understand why we haven't raised a general alarm." said Kiba.

"They are trying to avoid frightening the populace Kiba." explained Kurenai. "With the war going on it could cause chaos. Besides, with only three prisoners actually loose capturing them shouldn't be a huge issue. Subtlety is the key here Kiba."

"Well, Mizuki's stench leads over to the Nara Ranch." said the dog lover. "I wonder if any of the Naras are even aware."

Shino asked, "Do you see anything Hinata?"

Hinata had been activating her byakugan periodically and zeroed in on a nondescript building on the Nara lands. "There. It looks like someone is in that shed in an underground area I can't see very clearly."

Team 8 carefully crept up carefully on the shed and Kiba confirmed Mizuki's scent led straight in. That's when they heard the agonized howl from Mizuki transforming. "What the hell?" asked Kiba. "That noise wasn't human."

About that time the front wall of the shed came flying out and knocked Team 8 to the ground revealing a laughing Mizuki. "Now **_this_** is power!" cackled Mizuki as he looked at the downed Kurenai and Hinata. (Kiba and Shino were under the collapsed wall). "Well, well! If it isn't Kurenai! I'd love to play but I have some appointments to keep."

Kurenai got unsteadily to her feet and said, "What the hell have you done to yourself Mizuki?! You are no longer human."

Mizuki backhanded the still dazed Kurenai back into Hinata and bowled them both over before he laughed and said, "I have all the power I need now thanks to those lazy Nara's chemical supplies! This new form is magnificent. Orochimaru-sama is a genius!" Mizuki then headed towards the Village to find Iruka.

Hinata shook off her dizziness and helped her sensei up. "Kurenai-sensei; we have to help Kiba-kun and Shino-kun!"

Kurenai nodded and they saw Kiba crawling his way out from under the shed's wall. "Ouch." he said. Akamaru barked and trotted out unhurt. Kiba shielded his partner.

"Kiba, are you injured?" asked Kurenai. "What about Shino?"

Shino croaked from under the wall, "I'm alright Kurenai-sensei. I am stuck however."

Kurenai thought for a second and said, "Hinata-chan; can you still see Mizuki?"

Hinata activated her byakugan and said, "Yes sensei. He's moving away rapidly."

"Go after him Hinata. Delay him if you can." said Kurenai. Seeing alarm on her favorite student's face the genjutsu mistress said, "Kiba and I will get Shino out and catch up. _Go!_ "

Hinata nodded and raced after the fleeing tiger man….

….

 **Training Ground 9**

Maito Gai was observing his students as they finished their cool down exercises from their morning workout. "Excellent Neji-kun; Tenten-chan. Let us grab a _Youthful_ lunch before we go pick up our patrol orders. We will be patrolling at least one four hour patrol route daily; sometimes two. During those patrols we must be vigilant and dutiful. Village security is _very_ important my students."

As they started walking back towards the village proper, Neji said, "Gai-sensei, I believe that I have spotted someone ( _cringe_ ) _youthful_ to join our team until Lee is out of the hospital."

Tenten was looking rather suspiciously at her teammate but Gai was all ears. "And who might this _Youthful_ individual be Neji-kun?"

"Her name is Blake Belladonna." said Neji in a nonchalant tone. "Apparently she is a fill in on Team 7 since they lost two members. I believe she could be an asset to our team."

Gai beamed and gave a thumbs up to his student. "Yes, I remember her now. She is on my Eternal Rival's Team 7 as a new permanent member, not a fill in. Kakashi spoke very highly of her exceptional skill. She was standing with Jiraiya-sama and Uzumaki Naruto at the funeral when my infernally hip rival came back from the dead. You have an excellent eye Neji-kun but I'm afraid she is already committed to a team. On the other hand we can look forward to competing with my rival's team. He seems quite excited with them. Seeing such exuberance from my old friend Kakashi is very uplifting."

' _Damn_.' thought Neji. ' _Perhaps if we run into Team 7 I can speak with her personally. I could tell by just the way she held herself that she is special_.'

Tenten was watching Neji rather carefully. _'Just what are you up to Neji?_ '

….

 **Rice Country, The Village of Oto**

Orochimaru was staring at the map of the Southern Valley region of Oto. ' _I knew the forces I sent down there were doomed to be sacrifices but these attacks are like the Third Shinobi War. Jiraiya is being utterly ruthless no doubt at the orders of Sarutobi-sensei. It was a mistake thinking they could delay Konoha at that Valley_.'

"Most of our hired mercenary forces have been wiped out or routed Orochimaru-sama." said Kabuto. "Should we send in our regular shinobi forces?"

Orochimaru rubbed his forehead as if he was staving off the worst migraine in history. "I was hoping to keep them intact but our mercenaries bought nothing but a few hours with their lives instead of a few days. Konoha isn't leaving Rice Country's infrastructure intact as I foresaw." The Snake Sanin continued to ponder until he turned to Kabuto. "Send the remaining members of the Sound Four south to link up with Sakon and Ukon along with our Village Defense Units to erect a barrier."

Kabuto looked worried but then said, "Orochimaru-sama, Kidōmaru is confirmed to be dead in Konoha and Sakon and Ukon died defending the valley in the south. Jirōbō and Tayuya cannot erect even a weaker three point barrier without a third member. Our only other option is Kimimaro and he is being transported north. He is in no condition to fight."

" ** _SAKON AND UKON GOT THEMSELVES KILLED?! GOD DAMN IT!_** " roared the white snake. "All the time and resources I spent on the Sound Four and all that is left is Tayuya and Jirōbō!" Orochimaru got himself under control and hissed, " _Leave me_ Kabuto while I try to figure out a way to salvage this disaster!"

Kabuto didn't need to be told twice….

….

 **Konoha, Hashirama Lane**

The members of Team 9 were discussing what to have for lunch and were nearly bowled over by a huge man with tiger stripes running down the street from something. Suddenly a red and gold blur shot by them and nailed the man in the spine feet first making him eat the dirt. Hinata acrobatically flipped over and landed in front of the brute after she flattened him and said in a condescending tone, "Ah, Mizuki-sensei. How the mighty have fallen. As strange as it sounds coming from a kunoichi; _stealing is wrong_. The Nara's probably aren't too happy you broke into their place to make yourself all fuzzy. Are you _absolutely sure_ you don't want to surrender and go back to prison?"

Mizuki struggled back up to his feet. His Animal Cursed Seal form should have given him the strength to crush a jonin and this brat was _toying_ with him! "Who the hell are you little girl? You should be running in terror!"

"Really?" asked Hinata sarcastically. "I'm genin Hyūga Hinata, a former student of yours."

Mizuki charged and took several swipes at the heiress with his claws before her fingertips burst into flames. He was soon howling in pain at the scorch marks on his overly muscled arms as Hinata nimbly danced around Mizuki's claw strikes. The rest of Team 8 came roaring around the corner and saw Hinata engaged in battle with Mizuki. _Kurenai looked_ _ **pissed**_. She yelled to Hinata, "New orders; _take him out!_ "

The cat like man laughed and said, "Take me out? Who are you kidding Kurenai? You and your team of misfit brats haven't got the strength!" That's when the ex-sensei felt a terrible killing intent coming from Hinata.

The Hyūga Heires spread her arms wide and rose in the air as multiple rings of fire danced around her. The all consuming flame blazed in her byakugan eyes and made Mizuki shiver. She said in a dark tone, " ** _Burn forever in eternal pain_**." The concentrated firestorm she unleashed on the mutated Mizuki left only his silhouette visible as he screamed and thrashed. A smoking, writhing body hit the ground moments later. The fur was burned clean off of the sensei turned criminal.

Hinata landed nimbly as her team rushed up. "Are you all right Hinata-chan?" asked a concerned Kiba.

"I am fine Kiba-kun." asked Hinata. "Are all of you okay? I was worried about that wall falling on you when he escaped us."

Shino said, "We are only scuffed up Hinata. The wall didn't actually crush us. It just pinned us."

"What about Mizuki?" asked a dust and dirt covered Kurenai.

Hinata looked at the unmoving Mizuki's form with her byakugan and said, "He won't hurt anyone else sensei." She then leveled her burning gaze at the dumbstruck Neji. "Well hello there Neji nii-san. I haven't seen you since you tried to _kill me_ at the Chunin Exam Preliminaries."

Neji was too shocked to speak but Tenten said, "Is that really you Hinata?"

Gai was over with Kurenai checking Mizuki. "He seems to be withering away back to his normal size rapidly." said the Green Beast. "What happened to him?"

Kurenai shook her head. "Mizuki broke out of prison and apparently concocted a potion that was of Orochimaru's design. We caught him in a building that he tried to collapse on us so he could escape. I had to send Hinata after him alone to delay him but that turned out to be a non-issue."

Gai said as he checked for a pulse, "It seems Mizuki is still alive but barely. I shall take him to the hospital for treatment. Tenten-chan, Neji-kun; follow Kurenai-sensei's commands until I return. You will be required to fill out after action reports about this incident." The Green Beast vanished in a swirl of leaves.

….

 **Rice Country, Southern Regions**

The Konoha First Division had officially come to a full halt. Ahead of them the large supply garrison they intended to capture was a pillar of flames as well as the areas around it. "Jiraiya-sama, our scouts have confirmed that there is next to nothing left intact. What Oto troops remained in the area are rapidly retreating north." said Inuzuka Tsume.

"So Orochimaru has resorted to scorched earth tactics to slow us down." said Jiraiya somberly. "Has there been any contact with the enemy since then Tsume?"

Tsume shook her head. "Aside of the guerilla raids they've been making no. Their hit and run tactics have been fairly ineffective so far."

Jiraiya shook his head and turned to Shikaku. "Unless you have some strategy in mind it would be best to set up camp here and wait for the fires to die down. On the positive side the prevailing wind is blowing northward into Oto territory. We may not be able to track them clearly as they withdraw but we should be able to spot them easily enough if the send units out of the smoke to attack us."

Shikaku looked at the map of the area. "Capturing supplies from the enemy is unlikely with the strategy Orochimaru is employing. The loss of material to Oto must be staggering but they did manage to buy time to fortify Oto itself. Spreading out our forces to get around this wall of fire they've set up would stretch our supply lines out and leave them vulnerable to attacks. I hate to say it but our best option is to hunker down here and wait."

"Then for what it's worth the snake bought himself about a day's reprieve and probably is setting up every trap known to man under the cover of the smoke." said Jiraiya. "Shit. Send the order out to set up a defensive perimeter and to expect hit and run attacks. We'll just have to hurry up and wait."

"On the positive side our ROOT forces are already in the Oto Village area." said Shikaku "No doubt we should receive some intel from them as the day progresses."

The Konoha forces soon spread out a bit on the high grounds and set up defensive barriers to keep Oto's harassment raids at bay….

….

 **Konoha Training Ground 52**

Kakashi was standing looking over the two poor slobs that tried to jump Team 7 while dressed in prisoner outfits. It hadn't been pretty….

 _Flashback…._

 _Kakashi was supervising his team as they sparred. They were all working hard but it was obvious they were having fun too. High speed, full contact sparring was something the old Team 7 would never have done. They didn't have the trust in each other_ _ **or**_ _the discipline. On the other hand, Naruto, Pyrrha and Blake excelled and encouraged each other to grow stronger and genuinely helped each other. The silver haired jonin couldn't have been more pleased._

 _That was when two ronin samurai wannabes showed up with rusty sparring swords in prison clothes and made some outrageous demands…._

 _"_ _All three of you are our hostages." said the taller one. "We'll be taking you three kids with us as a little insurance policy against any Konoha ninjas."_

 _Team 7 looked around for Kakashi and saw he was standing behind the two crooks with a double eye smile waving. Neither crook even noticed. They sweat dropped at Kakashi's antics and Pyrrha said politely, "Judging by your clothing you must have escaped the prison and are lost. We can escort you back to the prison. Why don't you just surrender those swords and we can end this in a non violent manner?"_

 _Seeing the two prisoners looking shocked Naruto added, "Those swords have seen better days. They are awfully rusty. Let us help you out."_

 _The shorter one said, "_ _ **What the fuck?!**_ _Don't you brats know who we are? We're-"_

 _"_ _Don't tell them who we are!" said the taller one. "Keep our identities as secret!" He turned to the bored looking genins and said, "If you knew who we are you'd wet yourselves in_ _ **fear!**_ _"_

 _"_ _Really?" asked Blake. "You two are running around in prison outfits with beat up practice swords you probably found in a dumpster behind a kenjutsu dojo….and you think we're going to be_ _ **afraid**_ _of you? I'd be laughing if you guys weren't so pathetic."_

 _"_ _How did you know where we got the swords?" asked the shorter one._

 _The genins disappeared in a blur. Blake appeared in front of the shorter one and effortlessly knocked the sword out of the man's hand before she scissor kicked him into the air and flipped backwards and out of the way._

 _Pyrrha appeared to the right of the taller one and shattered his rusty blade with a cross slash. Seeing he was too dumbfounded to react; Pyrrha followed up by smashing her shield into the prisoner exposed face and sent him flying into his already airborne buddy. Pyrrha then leapt clear._

 _The two prisoners seemed to be suspended mid air for a split second before Naruto finished going through his hand signs and said "Gale palm!" The two hapless losers were sent sailing into the largest tree in the area and they hit it with and awful cracking noise before they fell to the ground broken and unconscious._

 _Flashback end…._

Kakashi shook his head as he dragged the two prisoners over into the training field and said, "Well, since this….golden opportunity just fell into our laps I'll show the three of you how to secure a ninja prisoner even though these two are definitely _not_ ninja material.

….

By the time another genin tracking team (Team 10 actually) caught up with the two runners a half hour later the prisoners were tied up like a pair presents minus the bows. Asuma looked them over and the taller one said, "Just take us back to jail please ninja-san. Those three kids are just heartless."

….

 **Rice Country, The Village of Oto**

Orochimaru looked over his maps with a bit of grim satisfaction. The cost had been terrible but the scorched earth strategy did what he needed; it bought him the precious time he needed to get everything out of Oto Village of research value. Kabuto was moving the experiments north all the way to the unused facilities Orochimaru set up there a decade ago in case of a disaster. ' _The defense of Oto Village is going to cost me fifty to seventy-five percent of my regular troops. After the village falls and Jiraiya discovers the underground prison complexes Konoha will be too bogged down to pursue me further_.'

Looking at the map of Fire Country Orochimaru saw his scouts were monitoring a full second Konoha division heading north to reinforce the first under Jiraiya. ' _There is no helping it. Even if Jiraiya stays put and waits for the second division the most time it will buy me is two days. Konoha is simply too strong and that damned Suna is staying out of it entirely. Oto has lost this war. That doesn't mean I can't make Jiraiya pay dearly for every square foot of ground in Oto Village though_.'

Tayuya and Jirōbō arrived shortly thereafter and saluted. "The fortifications inside the village have been completed as you ordered Orochimaru-sama." said Tayuya.

"Good." said the Snake sanin. "I take it you have news for me as well Jirōbō?"

The largest member of the Sound Four nodded. "The lines a mile behind the wall of flame in the south are moving on schedule my Lord. Unfortunately we lost a lot of laborers due to smoke inhalation."

"They are of no consequence." said Orochimaru. "That line has to hold Konoha back until we seed the area surrounding Oto Village with traps and reinforce our strong points." The Snake sanin pulled out a map of Oto Village. "Since your task is completed Tayuya; I'm putting you in charge of setting up the surrounding area. Jirōbō, head south and _motivate_ those workers to hurry up. We have lots to do and little time to do it in."

Time was running out and the Snake sanin needed to moved fast...

….

POSTSCRIPT:

**That's what they called it in the show. Konoha Penitentiary or Prison sounds better to me but what do I know?

Well, that's a good stopping point. So, we've had a Konoha jailbreak and the beginnings of the war. Basically Mizuki's run for freedom was based upon his anime only escape arc that ended up with him surviving minus his ninja abilities. In this one….Assuming he lives the creep with be crippled beyond recovery. It might be more merciful to kill him off. The other two escapees were just for comedy relief and to show Team 7 is starting to work out their own special combos. On the flip side, Neji has had a _very_ rude awakening regarding his cousin Hinata and seems to have taken an unusual interest in Blake. What will come of all that? Next time the war will continue with highlights here and there and we'll see things as they continue to develop on the home front. See you next time. Blue out. 6/26/16


	12. Chapter 12

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

I'd like to thank **Twisted Pxl** for inspiring some of the ideas for this chapter. I'd also like to thank **Lord Farsight** and **Solvdrage** for their input. I'm currently working on an update of **_Trapped Under Ice_** but managed to slip this in. I now present chapter 12. Enjoy!

Last time:

 ** _Rice Country, The Village of Oto_**

 _Orochimaru looked over his maps with a bit of grim satisfaction. The cost had been terrible but the scorched earth strategy did what he needed; it bought him the precious time he needed to get everything out of Oto Village of research value. Kabuto was moving the experiments north all the way to the unused facilities Orochimaru set up there a decade ago in case of a disaster. '_ _The defense of Oto Village is going to cost me fifty to seventy-five percent of my regular troops. After the village falls and Jiraiya discovers the underground prison complexes Konoha will be too bogged down to pursue me further_ _.'_

 _Looking at the map of Fire Country Orochimaru saw his scouts were monitoring a full second Konoha division heading north to reinforce the first under Jiraiya. '_ _There is no helping it. Even if Jiraiya stays put and waits for the second division the most time it will buy me is two days. Konoha is simply too strong and that damned Suna is staying out of it entirely. Oto has lost this war. That doesn't mean I can't make Jiraiya pay dearly for every square foot of ground in Oto Village though_ _.'_

 _Tayuya and Jirōbō arrived shortly thereafter and saluted. "The fortifications inside the village have been completed as you ordered Orochimaru-sama." said Tayuya._

 _"_ _Good." said the Snake sanin. "I take it you have news for me as well Jirōbō?"_

 _The largest member of the Sound Four nodded. "The lines a mile behind the wall of flame in the south are moving on schedule my Lord. Unfortunately we lost a lot of laborers due to smoke inhalation."_

 _"_ _They are of no consequence." said Orochimaru. "That line has to hold Konoha back until we seed the area surrounding Oto Village with traps and reinforce our strong points." The Snake sanin pulled out a map of Oto Village. "Since your task is completed Tayuya; I'm putting you in charge of setting up the surrounding area. Jirōbō, head south and_ _motivate_ _those workers to hurry up. We have lots to do and little time to do it in."_

 _Time was running out and the Snake sanin needed to move fast…._

Chapter 12

 **Konoha, Mission Hall**

Kurenai led her team plus Neji and Tenten into the Mission Hall and reported on Mizuki's violent _removal_ from the playing field. Needless to say written reports were required and the group of five genins and one jonin were soon at it….

 _'_ _How can this be?!_ ' thought Neji. ' _Hinata-sama's destiny was to be a weakling and a loser. Fate_ _ **cannot**_ _be changed! What is going on?_ ' The Hyūga prodigy had no idea how he could accept this…. After seeing Hinata destroy the mutated Mizuki; Neji was in shock. He'd heard gossip around the compound that the Hyūga Heiress had revealed that she was much stronger than she ever let on but Neji knew her fate to always be weak was unchangeable. Now the Hyūga prodigy could only stare in shock at his cousin from across the mission hall where Team 8 and Team 9 were filling out their after action reports regarding the recapture of Mizuki. Neji was dumbfounded by Hinata's appearance as well. The Byakugan Princess cremating Mizuki alive was hard enough to swallow _without_ her turning into some stunning vixen of a kunoichi overnight. The last Neji heard (not that he cared) was Hinata hadn't fully recovered from the Chunin Exams. Now he was worried at what she might do to him….

Tenten had seen Hinata since her injuries and knew the Hyūga Heiress changed her look a great deal but the Fire Juken had Tenten dazzled and a tad frightened. ' _Hinata must have held back at the Chunin Exams because she would have killed Neji with that kind of power_.' The weapons loving girl wondered, ' _Just how long has Hinata been hiding this away?_ '

….

 **Hokage Tower**

Homura and Koharu were on a stage in front of the Hokage Tower and had the unenviable job dumped upon them of dealing with the fallout of a bunch of high-strung, wartime genins beating the holy hell out of a mob of convicts trying to break out of prison that morning. It was bad enough that Team 7 pretty much used the two crooks they apprehended as training dummies. The coup de grace was the Hyūga Heiress publicly roasting Mizuki like a barbeque contest was being held….

"Every war has some group of humanitarians spring up out of the woodwork but this takes the cake Koharu." said Homura tiredly.

Koharu shook her head. "I think Hiruzen is still holding a grudge against us Homura. This new group calling themselves PANIC is just ludicrous! I mean….prisoner's rights?!" Below the stage they were on was a group of people waving banners that proudly said:

 ** _PANIC_**

 _People_

 _Against_

 _Ninjas_

 _Immolating_

 _Convicts_

Homura sweat dropped and rubbed his forehead. "Yes, I do believe Hiruzen is quite irritated with us having to do public relations with these idiots. This is a ninja village damn it! Where are they coming from talking about human rights?!"

Hearing the angry crowd roar both Homura and Koharu realized that the microphones were already on and every insult they just rambled out was broadcast loud and clear….

 _Pity the Hokage's advisors for they know not what they do_ ….

….

Up in his office Sarutobi Hiruzen heard the broadcast as well as the rather negative reactions of the crowd. " ** _I am surrounded by idiots_** …." he thought aloud.

….

 **Mission Hall**

Team 7 came up to the mission hall having heard about the horrible way the escaped criminals were treated. Kakashi nonchalantly brushed through the noisy people and entered the building where Iruka was handing out patrol routes for the various genin teams. Naruto took the lead and came up to Iruka. "Hi Iruka-sensei! Team Seven is here for a village patrol mission."

Umino Iruka looked up and saw Naruto was beaming. He also saw that Naruto's two new teammates were _very_ attractive girls. Kakashi half waved and nodded to go ahead and proceed. It was just a patrol mission after all. Iruka looked at three missions on the desk along with another marked as a priority. He asked, "Kakashi, would Team Seven be up for a short C-rank? The Village of Midori to the south sent a request for an animal control mission. They claim some kind of beast has been going after their livestock."

"Doesn't the war and village security take precedence?" asked Kakashi puzzled.

"Whatever it is has the whole Village of Midori petrified." said Iruka. "It's possible this is Oto creating unrest and it needs to be investigated per Hokage-sama. Gai's Team 9 is still undermanned so I thought I'd see if your reorganized Team 7 was up to it. If you don't think they are ready for a field test then that's fine Kakashi…. But you might risk being heckled by PANIC if you stay inside the village…. Your little group did beat those two convicts senseless. It won't be long before you are celebrities you know."

Kakashi gave a double eye smile and said, "You know, a short and easy mission down to Midori Village might help my team a lot. It's only about 45 minutes from here." Turning to his team Kakishi said _way_ too happily, "What do you say team?" as he nodded 'yes' repeatedly.

"Of course we will gladly accept this mission Kakashi-sensei." said Pyrrha in her always polite tone.

"I'm in." said Blake quietly. "We need to get out and move anyway."

Naruto gave a thumbs up and said, "Let's do this. It's probably just a pack of wild dogs or something." He didn't notice Blake cringe a bit at the idea of wild dogs.

"We'll take it Iruka. No need to _PANIC_." said Kakashi. Everyone present cringed at the jonin's bad pun. Sweat dropping, Kakashi said, "Yeah….Anyway, pack for two days just in case. We'll meet at the South Gates in an hour." Team 7 saluted and took off in a cloud of dust.

Iruka asked, "How is the _new_ Team 7 doing Kakashi? Is Naruto okay?"

Kakashi said seriously, "I honestly couldn't ask for a better group of kids. The old Team 7 was a dysfunctional mess. Naruto and the girls move like a well oiled machine and they've just started. All of them are improving by leaps and bounds." Kakashi waved and disappeared in a body flicker.

Iruka smiled to himself. "I'll have to visit Naruto when he gets back. He looked awfully happy with his new teammates."

….

 **Konoha South Gates**

An hour later Kakashi showed up in a body flicker and saw all three of his genins were armed to the teeth as wartime regulations required. "Is everyone ready to set out?" asked Kakashi. "It's less than an hour at a moderate pace." Assuming a diamond formation, Team 7 took off towards Midori Village. The trip proved to be without incident. When they arrived the first thing that Team 7 noticed was a stench of death and a lot of property damage. The villagers were actively moving the carcasses of dead sheep and goats that the villagers were known for raising. There must have been thirty animals around in various states of dismemberment.

"Damn." said Naruto. "No wonder they called for help."

The villagers soon greeted Kakashi and his genins and directed them to the Midori Village Elder. Naruto made about fifty shadow clones to help move the animal's bodies and the villagers welcomed the small orange army's help. "That's some ninja trick young man." said the Elder to Naruto. "I'm Watanabe and as you can see our little village is in a bit of distress. Over the last week we've had attacks from a bear sized creature that seems to be hostile to the people here. It seems intent on destroying our livelihood and has demolished a great deal of property."

Kakashi looked around and said "Just _one_ animal did all this? Not a pack of them?"

Watanabe shook his head. "We tried to drive it off but on the first night we confronted it the creature went berserk at the sight of our people. Our hunting party had to hole up in one of our barns and reinforced the door until the creature left. It must have torn up that barn door for nearly an hour howling and carrying on before it left. Since then it's returned almost every night after dark. Last night it broke into one of the animal pens and you can see the results." said the elder as he waved towards the dead livestock. "We've been barring our doors while the thing runs amok outside. It seems intent on killing the villagers but we finally boarded up the three largest houses for protection and all of my people have remained safe thank the gods."

"Can you tell us what the creature looks like?" asked Pyrrha. "It sounds like we need to get it tonight before it can do any more damage."

"Well, it's black as a shadow and has claws. The creature also has red eyes and makes an awful sound when it howls. I've never heard or seen anything like it. It's about the size of a large bear but it's built too skinny to be any sort of bear. It has really long reach and can walk on its hind legs or on all fours like a bear too. Truthfully we don't know what it is. Come look at the damage it did to the barn on the first night and tell me if it looks like anything you've seen."

The four ninjas soon were standing in front of a large barn door that looked like it had been attacked with bladed weapons. "Well, they are definitely claw marks." said Blake. She placed her hand where one set of gashes converged. "There are four fingers and an opposable thumb from the way these scratch marks are shaped. The hand of this creature is at least three times the size mine are. Could it be some sort of ape like creature? Regardless we aren't dealing with a regular hunting animal here. It's a predator but nothing native to these parts."

Naruto ran his fingers over the claw marks. "This was done with raw physical power. The cuts don't show any signs of chakra being used. If this door hadn't been so thick to keep animals from bolting I'm sure it would have ripped through."

"The scratch marks are all so random." added Pyrrha. "Whatever kind of animal it was must have just been slashing wildly at the door. If it had concentrated its efforts on one area instead of lashing out blindly then I'm sure it could have broken through. It's big and strong but not particularly smart."

Kakashi nodded in agreement with his student's assessment of the situation. "Just remember that it's very dangerous whether it's smart or not. The kind of claws we're dealing with here look to be about the size of kunai knives and obviously it has the strength to use them."

….

 **Konoha, Hyūga Compound**

The Hyūga Elder Council was having a discussion about Mizuki's little misadventure that the Heiress Hinata so _thoroughly_ brought to an end. The Head Hyūga Elder said, "It seems our assumption that Hinata was holding back a great deal was correct. My grandson Neji witnessed her incinerating her former Academy Sensei. To say she has revealed her abilities is an understatement. Neji was justifiably shocked as he defeated her previously. He said _Hinata-sama burned the man alive_ and that _It would have been far more merciful to kill him_."

"For our Branch House Prodigy Neji-san to make such a statement is quite unprecedented; don't you think?" asked Elder Majo rhetorically. "It seems that burn scar you have decorating your chest was just a love tap Elder Hiraku. We are all indeed fortunate that she did not come after us with wrath." ' _Especially me; I saw the report on Mizuki. It would be a mercy killing if he died._ ' Majo thought with a cringe.

"My granddaughter Hinata is first and foremost a proud member of the Hyūga clan and this further exemplifies that fact." said Hiashi's Father proudly. "In spite of the fact she made….examples of Elder Hiraku and his grandson she did no permanent damage. It's painfully obvious that she could have done so effortlessly. The Clan has been exposed to her power in a very public manner. I don't know what made her decide to reveal her new abilities but we should show our support of her actions. She is among our strongest."

Elder Hiraku growled and said, "I'm forced to agree but I still believe this could have all been avoided had she not hidden her abilities. She has many grievances with us and I have no idea how we can get back in her good graces." Then he added, "Hiashi-sama did say she was out for _blood_ ; specifically _ours_."

Minako nodded. "It would be in our best interests to start treating her as the proper Heiress. For a long time she's been treated with disdain directly or indirectly by our actions. Hanabi-sama has shown favor and fully supports her older sister. I believe we should do the same."

Hiraku said in a sour tone, "So what do you suggest Elder Minako; do you want to bake her a cake?"

"Stop pouting like a child Hiraku." said Elder Majo. "Acting so petulant simply doesn't suit you. You are just embarrassed at how she defeated you so easily." Hiraku just glared.

The Head Elder sighed, "Regardless of our various misgivings, Elder Minako is correct. We need to show our support for our Heiress."

….

 **The Village of Midori**

Team 7 made sure everyone in the village was secure and perched up on the rooftops of empty building to lay in wait for their mysterious target. Blake's superb night vision gave her a huge advantage and she was closest to the main entrance of Midori. Pyrrha and Kakashi were near the center of the village so they could respond rapidly in any direction and Naruto was at the smaller exit to the village at the opposite end from Blake. Both village entrances were forested but on Naruto's end it was much easier to see because the forest wasn't as dense and there was a large grass field beyond it where the animals the villagers raised often grazed. Given the moon was full that night the visibility was excellent for the four ninjas and Kakashi wondered if spotting the creature would be easy….

 _Flashback…._

 _Watanabe said, "Stealth? Well, it is completely black but it's not particularly quiet. It tends to show up without too much noise but once it's in town it's extremely loud while it's wreaking havoc. The animals you helped us clean up were_ _ **all**_ _slaughtered by it last night. The noise lasted a couple of hours before the thing left town. It fed on a couple of the animals but it seemed more interested in wanton destruction than food. Whatever it is seems too bent on destruction to be a normal animal. It's more like the thing is on a mission to destroy Midori if you ask me…."_

 _Flashback end…._

Kakashi sat thinking to himself, ' _If it actually was a ninja operation they would have hit things of value or targeted families to spread fear. All the evidence we saw is something you would expect a rabid animal to do. Well, a severely nocturnal rabid animal anyway_ ….'

Naruto was lying on top of a house on his stomach facing the smaller village entrance and watching keenly. He'd already heard several animals moving around in the surrounding forest but none of them were particularly big or noisy. He focused chakra in his ears to improve his hearing but the nighttime noises of the forest seemed peaceful enough. _'I wonder if this critter is even going to show up.'_ thought Naruto. He looked at his watch in the moonlight and thought, ' _Well, it's just after midnight. I really expected something by now_.'

Blake was at the other end of the village in a crouch. She was on top of a barn which gave her an excellent view. ' _My instincts have me on edge_.' thought the feline faunus girl. ' _Maybe I'm just high strung tonight but something tells me it's coming_.' She thumbed the hilt of her katana as her amber eyes scanned the area intensely. ' _Sure wish I had my Gambol Shroud. It's superior to hauling a kusarigama and a separate katana_.'

Pyrrha was perched on the roof of one of the three occupied houses. She was sitting and focusing on the noises around her. The redhead wasn't quite as on edge as the other two genins because Kakashi was nearby. He was only two houses over and looked like he was taking a nap. ' _It seems Kakashi-sensei is making himself comfortable. I'd fall asleep if I laid down in that position_.'

At 1:00 AM Kakashi called his genins on the radio to make sure they were all awake and alert. "This is Scarecrow; everyone check in."

"This is Maelstrom." said Naruto. "I really expected a visitor by now."

"Shade reporting in. All is clear at the front gate." said Blake. "Our quarry isn't following the pattern the villagers mentioned. Do you think it realizes we are here?"

Pyrrha said, "This is Gladiator. I think that the idea of our target sensing us is unlikely. It wasn't scared of a large hunting party so I doubt four ninjas would deter it."

That's when they all heard roar and their eyes widened. "This is Maelstrom, target sighted!" said Naruto excitedly. "I'm going to intercept it outside the gates and knock it back into the field where we have some room to fight."

"Kakashi said, "Confirmed! Everyone move to back up Maelstrom at the gates."

Naruto saw something black as pitch crashing through the trees towards the village gates. He channeled chakra into his hand and formed a rasengan before he charged in. The creature's startled red eyes locked with Naruto's blue ones a split second before Naruto hit it square in the center of its chest. The torque from the spiraling sphere sent the creature flying back through the trees and it tumbled out into the field before shaking its head to regain its bearings. It was obviously hurting from the blow. In the bright light of the full moon Naruto could see the monstrosity clearly. The ten foot pitch black creature had a face that looked like a white bone mask with red markings on it. It also had red eyes that seemed to burn with malice. Out of its black fur stood bone protrusions and spikes along its back, arms and knees. Worst of all it had massive claws on both on its 'fingers' and 'toes.' It growled angrily at Naruto who was trying to figure out what the hell it was.

The others landed behind Naruto a second later. "Th-that's a beowolf!" said Pyrrha in shock rather than fear. "What on earth is one doing here in Fire Country?"

Blake was already a blur in motion and slashed at the beowolf with her kusarigama. The creature was smart enough to try and avoid the slice but Blake's aim was true and she took a chunk of meat out of the creature's arm that made it howl in pain.

Pyrrha drew her sword and shield and Naruto threw three kunai followed by a gale palm jutsu. One missed but two of the kunai shot clean through the angry creature causing a lot of damage although neither actually hit a vital spot. The creature painfully slouched over on all fours and was about to charge Team 7 when Pyrrha's tsurugi pierced it's skull with a magnetically enhanced thrust from the red haired Gladiator…. Then the pitch black creature collapsed and fell over dead on its side. Its body evaporated much to Naruto's shock but when it disappeared the body of an ordinary gray wolf was left behind.

Naruto went to move forward but Kakashi stopped him and said, "Good job team. You handled that well." Kakashi rubbed his chin as they looked over the wolf's corpse. "I knew the sound of that howl but this was still unexpected." he said in a curious tone.

Blake gathered up her kusarigama and asked Kakashi, "How could a creature of Grimm be here?"

Kakashi said, "Well, we theorized that the power Ruby Rose unleashed when Pyrrha was killed sent both Cinder and Pyrrha souls across from Remnant to this existence in that instant. The same power sent us later Blake. There were masses of Grimm there that were obliterated by it but as far as we know they have no souls. Truthfully we don't know how or why they exist. I can only surmise that this one came here from Remnant the same way we did but why it merged with the local wildlife is arguable. That beowolf Grimm obviously possessed a normal wolf and when the Grimm was killed it evaporated leaving the wolf's body behind."

Pyrrha looked at the dead wolf and said, "Grimm exist due to negative emotions and completely evaporate when they die. This Grimm is clearly different from the ones in Remnant if it left behind _any_ physical form."

"Perhaps Grimm can't exist in this reality without a physical form." suggested Blake. "The spirits that make up Grimm have to latch on to an existing life form to manifest themselves."

Kakashi nodded. "That sounds reasonable but it's still bad news regardless. We have no idea how Grimm reproduce or if a finite amount arrived here. This may be the only one but somehow I doubt it." Looking about he said, "There were no signs of other Grimm in the area but this one was physically much larger than the wolf's body it possessed. Physiologically it moved in ways a wolf could not so a Grimm's existence isn't entirely defined by the physical form of the creature it possesses. We need to report back to the Hokage what we've found."

"Should we take this wolf carcass back with us for study?" asked Pyrrha. "All the damage to the body corresponds with the damage we did to the larger Grimm's form on a smaller scale."

"That's a good idea." agreed Kakashi. "Let's seal it in a scroll."

Naruto said, "Not to interrupt but could someone tell me what the hell we just killed?"

Pyrrha looked embarrassed, "I'm so sorry Naruto-kun."

The orange loving ninja said, "You don't have to be sorry Pyrrha-chan. I just wanted to know. Is this something from your world?"

Blake nodded. "Our world was inhabited by creatures of Grimm. That was what we fought against as hunters and huntresses. That particular type was called a beowolf. It was different from the ones in Remnant though."

Naruto tilted his head to the side and asked, "How so Blake-chan?"

Kakashi said, "In a nutshell Naruto; Grimm completely evaporated when they died in Remnant but this one left behind a physical body. I can't explain it other than to say the beowolf _mutated_ so it could survive here. _Bloody evolution_." grumped the jonin.

Team 7 quickly sealed up the wolf's remains and headed back into Midori Village. They stayed on guard until morning just in case.

….

 **Konoha, Hyūga Compound**

It was morning and Hinata got up early and was sitting down to a quiet breakfast of cinnamon rolls with some tea. She was eating in the kitchen before she went out to meet Kurenai-sensei and her team. ' _Yesterday was an adventure with all the protesters and all. If I hadn't stopped Mizuki he could have torn a dozen civilians apart. Kurenai-sensei said these sorts of things blow over after a week or so…Or ANBU makes them go away. Seriously, this village is a military dictatorship! If I was in charge…_ _ **I'd make them obey**_ _. Oh well. The Clan seems to be showing me a combination of fear or respect since I revealed my power publically. I need to sort that out. On the positive side; at least the Elders are leaving me alone_.' She heard a whisper of fabric and activated her byakugan. ' _I guess I spoke to soon_.' Hinata didn't turn her head as she sipped her tea. "What brings you down to the kitchen so early in the morning Head Elder? Don't you usually dine with you little clique in the Main Branch dining room after the branch house members have _made_ your breakfast?"

Hiashi's Father barely hid his cringe at the acerbic greeting his granddaughter gave him. "Actually, I thought I'd see how my lovely grandchild and Heiress is. I rarely see you these days. May I join you Hinata-chan?"

The Heiress gave him a withering stare with a spark of flame in her pearl like byakugan eyes. "You may do as you wish Elder."

The Elder sat down and said, "I see you are having cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Did you get them at a bakery? They look delicious. I wasn't aware that our cooks made them."

Hinata pulled her cinnamon rolls back possessively from her Grandfather and said, "I got up and made them this morning _myself_. I see no need to have others cook for me."

"You and Hanabi-chan would always be welcome to dine with me in the absence of your Father." said the Head Elder kindly.

The Heiress suppressed a growl and thought to herself, ' _I'm in no mood to fight with this old man this morning. I really want to see what his game is by interrogating him but the clan is currently a bit uneasy about my actions. I can't risk further instability by beating the Elder's head like a drum no matter how much I want to. I wish Naruto-kun was here to talk to_.'

Seeing his Granddaughter was deep in thought about his suggestion (or so he thought) the Head Elder said, "All of the Elder Council supports you and wishes to reconcile with you."

Hinata polished off her meal and said, "Do you seriously think I'd believe that? The Elder Council only wishes to protect their places of power within the Hyūga Clan. I don't intend to spend any more time than necessary around you or them." Hinata washed her dishes and said, "I don't have time for this. I have duties to attend to. I'm sure you do as well _Elder_." She left with a soft sway in her hips and her Grandfather confounded.

' _What am I going to do with that girl?_ ' lamented the Head Elder.

….

 **The Village of Midori**

Once the people of Midori Vilage were all up Kakashi explained to the Village Elder Watanabe that it was a creature from outside the Elemental Countries called a beowolf. "The creatures bear an extreme hostility towards humans and are very, very dangerous." said the jonin. "It's bad news seeing one here in Fire Country. I'm going to put in a request to the Hokage to have the situation fully investigated."

"I'm just glad the beast is dead." said Watanabe. "So they are some sort of spirit or demon?"

"We really don't know their true nature I'm afraid." said Pyrrha apologetically. "The important thing is you should call for professional ninjas or samurai to fight them. They are too strong for civilians to handle."

Watanabe nodded "I can't disagree with that. You all did a good job last night."

After the Elder signed off that they'd completed their mission Team 7 headed home wondering what the appearance of the lone beowolf portended….

….

 **Konoha Village**

Team 7 made the easy trip back to Konoha and quickly signed in before turning in the completed mission papers. Iruka was talking to them about the beowolf. "Well it's nothing I've ever heard of. Are you sure this should be escalated to the Hokage's attention Kakashi?"

Kakashi said dourly, "I realize Hokage-sama is very busy with the war effort but this is of extremely important."

Iruka nodded. "I understand Kakashi. I'll have it on Hokage-sama's desk with the morning reports. This report is disturbing to read anyway."

….

 **Rice Country, The Village of Oto**

Tayuya came into the main base where Orochimaru had his headquarters. The redhead was steamed. ' _Mother fucker! Kabuto's slipping off with the supplies that I need to set up a defense with. I need to talk to Orochimaru-sama before four eyes takes everything we've got left_.'

As she rounded a corner down into the planning room she heard Orochimaru say, "Concentrate your efforts on curing **_Kimimaro_** , Kabuto. The rest of the Sound Four are going to be sacrifices in this war. I already have new cursed seal subjects to take their place. Kidōmaru, Sakon and Ukon failed me utterly and the idea of Jirōbō and Tayuya being anything more than glorified fodder in this conflict with Konoha is a pipe dream. They are failed experiments and like all failed experiments should be discarded."

The redhead's heart nearly stopped as she heard her master consign her to death without a second thought. Her brown eyes widened and she held her breath as she silently slipped back out of the underground headquarters. ' _Orochimaru-sama is setting Jirōbō and I up to die! I need to tell that fat ass so we can –No, Jirōbō can fuck himself. He'll never believe me. I'm out of here_.' Ten minutes later she arrived over at the command tent she had been working in to enhance Oto's defenses. Tayuya gave her underlings several tasks to do so that she was alone in the tent. The redhead carefully rolled up all the maps she had of Oto Village into a scroll. Every last trap was shown in them as were all the underground passages.

She strolled out of the command tent and told her second in command. "I'm going to go south and get some supplies and workers from Jirōbō. That fat-ass is where the supply problem is, not Kabuto. It will probably take a few hours so post four guards around the command tent. **_Nobody_** goes in there without my say so. Those documents are too valuable to risk anyone seeing them; **_got it?_** "

Getting a quick and frightened affirmative from her subordinate Tayuya set out towards the area Jirōbō was working in. ' _With these maps I can pay for amnesty from that fucker Orochimaru. All I have to do is hand them over at the Konoha Command Post and I should have a ticket to safety. I hate traitors more than anything but Orochimaru-sama and four eyes betrayed me first_.' she thought angrily. With a purpose in her step Tayuya walked out of sight and then took off at ninja speeds towards the Konoha army….and hopefully freedom.

….

 **Rice Country, Southern Regions**

"The Second Division will be here to reinforce and resupply us by this time tomorrow Jiraiya-sama." reported a chunin.

Jiraiya was looking at the dying fires that Orochimaru's forces set up the day before. "We're going to have to make a move today." said the Toad Sage. "We've already given the snake too much time to mount a defense as it is." He motioned to his strategist Shikaku. "Let's take a look at this map now that the fires are starting to smolder."

….

POSTSCRIPT:

For those keeping score, Blake is officially in the pairing now along with Hinata and Pyrrha. I added her in the story description as well. And yes, a creature of Grimm has appeared in the Elemental Nations. What will that lead too? It could be a fluke or it could be the first of many. Time will tell. A beowolf isn't enormously strong so Team 7 was able to dispatch it fairly easily. Next chapter we will be getting back to the Konoha/Oto War in Rice Country among other things. See you next time. Blue out. 7/19/16


	13. Chapter 13

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Well, I was in between chapters of **_Trapped Under Ice_** when this idea hit me. I'd like to thank **Solvdrage** for his input on this chapter. Here is chapter 13. Enjoy!

Last time:

 _'_ _…_ _.Orochimaru-sama is setting Jirōbō and I up to die! I need to tell that fat ass so we can –No, Jirōbō can fuck himself. He'll never believe me. I'm out of here._ _' Ten minutes later she arrived over at the command tent she had been working in to enhance Oto's defenses. Tayuya gave her underlings several tasks to do so that she was alone in the tent. The redhead carefully rolled up all the maps she had of Oto Village into a scroll. Every last trap was shown in them as were all the underground passages._

 _She strolled out of the command tent and told her second in command. "I'm going to go south and get some supplies and workers from Jirōbō. That fat-ass is where the supply problem is, not Kabuto. It will probably take a few hours so post four guards around the command tent._ _ **Nobody**_ _goes in there without my say so. Those documents are too valuable to risk anyone seeing them;_ _ **got it?**_ _"_

 _Getting a quick and frightened affirmative from her subordinate Tayuya set out towards the area Jirōbō was working in. '_ _With these maps I can pay for amnesty from that fucker Orochimaru. All I have to do is hand them over at the Konoha Command Post and I should have a ticket to safety. I hate traitors more than anything but Orochimaru-sama and four eyes betrayed me first._ _' she thought angrily. With a purpose in her step Tayuya walked out of sight and then took off at ninja speeds towards the Konoha army….and hopefully freedom._

 _…_ _._

 ** _Rice Country, Southern Regions_**

 _"_ _The Second Division will be here to reinforce and resupply us by this time tomorrow Jiraiya-sama." reported a chunin._

 _Jiraiya was looking at the dying fires that Orochimaru's forces set up the day before. "We're going to have to make a move today." said the Toad Sage. "We've already given the snake too much time to mount a defense as it is." He motioned to his strategist Shikaku. "Let's take a look at this map now that the fires are starting to smolder."_

 _…_ _._

Chapter 13

 **Rice Country, Southern Regions**

The advance scouts of the Second Division had been sent ahead of the rest of the division to help the First. With all of the smoke and fog from the fires set by Oto troops the scouts had become a necessity. The minute they were rested enough from racing ahead to the front lines the scouting teams were sent out towards the Oto lines to look for weaknesses in the Rice Country defenses. Jiraiya ordered both the First and Second Division scouting teams to be cautious and report back what they found once they deployed. –Preferably without engaging the enemy. The bulk of the First Division was slowly bulldozing through the forefront of the enemy lines. It was an obvious target that kept the enemy forces pinned while the scouting teams probed for actual weaknesses….

It was now that Hyūga Hiashi found himself in a very bad situation. As a senior jonin he was in charge of a scouting group and his squad was ambushed. When Hiashi received the orders to reconnoiter an area where they suspected the enemy was he moved with caution but his subordinates were too eager and went too far afield. Now Hiashi was acting as a rearguard so his injured team could withdraw. He had multiple kunai wounds and was quickly falling behind his troops. ' _Damn, these Oto troops are weaklings but there are dozens of them. I'm starting to run out of chakra_.' thought the Hyūga Clan head. Hiashi saw a kunai with an explosive tag flying at him and yelled " _Kaiten!_ " The expanding dome of chakra expanded around him but the shockwave caused him to lose his footing.

From Hiashi's point of view it was as if his enemies were turned into a swarm of insects coming towards him, ready to consume him alive. They moved in slow motion to him. He kept swatting them and crushing them by the dozens but no matter how many the proud clan head killed more and _more_ and **_more_** crawled out of the cracks and crevices of the earth to consume his already bleeding flesh. His thoughts went back to the last time he spoke to his daughter Hinata….

 _"…_ _.I am very proud of you and I know you can take care of the clan in my absence._ _Should the worst happen to me you have my permission to get rid of the Caged Bird Seal by force if necessary. I know you will do the right thing Hinata-chan."_

 _He was surprised when Hinata hugged him and said, "Do not talk as if you are not coming back Father."_

Hiashi felt himself falling and thought, ' _I'm so sorry Hinata-chan_ ….'

One of the insects closed in on him. Its beady eyes and mindless grin disgusted Hiashi but there was nothing he could do to stop it….The sharp mandibles chattered eagerly as it closed upon him. As he was about to close his eyes for the last time the Clan Head thought he saw a massive foot crush the insect in front him with a thunderous crash. The exhausted Hyūga let darkness take him….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage's Office**

The Third Hokage was looking over the report submitted by Kakashi on the Beowolf. He had summoned Kakashi to discuss it and the two were trying to gauge how big of a threat they were dealing with. "At this point we don't have the manpower to follow up on this Kakashi." said Hiruzen. "With the war going on it will pretty much fall on the shoulders of our genin teams. Bearing that in mind though I want you to write up a memorandum that I can hand out to the jonin senseis of the genin teams. Knowledge is power and these creatures sound like they could be anything from a minor nuisance to a truly major threat. The world of Remnant….It wasn't a pretty place was it?"

Kakashi shook his head. "It was an ongoing struggle for survival Hokage-sama. I….Ozpin dedicated his life to fighting the Creatures of Grimm and training the younger generations how to do so. Despite our advances technology in Remnant we still couldn't explain the Grimm's existence. It had been an endless war between man and beast for centuries. It's actually rather lucky that my team ran into that Beowolf. Other than Hinata, no one else but us could have identified the Grimm for what it was."

Sarutobi nodded. "Be that as it may, if these creatures actually _feed_ on negative emotions like you've described then the Elemental Nations would be a virtual feast for them. Once the war is over I'm going to have teams actively hunt for these creatures. We can't be idle with this kind of potential threat out there."

"I agree entirely Hokage-sama." said Kakashi. "I'll write up a memorandum quickly and return it to you as soon as I'm finished. I may get my genin Team to help me on this before we take our afternoon patrol."

"Why would you need your genins Kakashi?" asked Hiruzen. "It sounds like you have a lifetime's worth of experience with these creatures."

"I can't draw to save my life Hokage-sama." said Kakashi in a guilty tone.

Hiruzen sweat dropped. "Do what you need to do Kakashi. Unless there is more you are dismissed."

….

 **Rice Country, Oto Village Headquarters**

"What do you mean Tayuya is _missing?!_ " asked Orichimaru irritably.

Kabuto cringed slightly. "Apparently she was having difficulties procuring supplies and left hours ago to speak with Jirōbō my Lord."

"Why didn't she come to _me_ then?" growled the Snake sanin.

"I have no idea Orochimaru-sama." answered Kabuto. "I sent out a squad to find Jirōbō so we could locate her. She stationed a heavy guard at her command tent before she left and indicated it would be a few hours but she could have been to and from the front lines two or three times by now. Do you think Konoha got her?"

"Go to her command tent and see where she left off Kabuto." said Orochimaru. "She might be at one of the new fortifications inspecting her work."

Kabuto bowed, "Right away Orochimaru-sama."

….

 **Rice Country, Southern Regions**

Tayuya was surveying her work. " _Fuckin' A_." she said to no one in particular. Around her were dozens of Oto troops that her ogre like Doki had demolished when she decided to break through the lines into Konoha controlled space. As the redhead advanced she found a hill that was _littered_ with an impossible number of Oto troop's bodies her own targets had been following. What was most shocking of all was one man had caused it all and was at the top of the hill. She saw him falling and decided to intervene figuring he would make a strong ally. There really wasn't much left for Tayuya to kill but she directed her Doki to crush what little fodder was left….

"I hope the fucker's still alive. I need all the help I can get." thought Tayuya aloud as she waded through the pile bodies to the top of the hill. She saw the man's Konoha headband and checked for a pulse. ' _He's just unconscious but he's got several wounds._ ' (sigh) ' _I'm no medic but I can patch him up_.' After checking the ninja over and dressing his injuries; the red haired girl directed one of her Doki to give herself and the wounded ninja a lift towards the Konoha forces….

….An hour later a Konoha tracking group led by Inuzuka Tsume heard of (all things) a flute playing in rhythm with very heavy footsteps. That's when one of the Hyūga scouts with her said; "Hiashi-sama!" and everyone turn in the direction he was pointing. Out of the fog they saw a massive ogre like creature carrying Hiashi a gently as the ponderous thing could. On its opposite shoulder was a lithe red haired girl playing a flute skillfully. The girl noticed them and changed the melody she was playing. The creature kneeled and gently put Hiashi down. The girl hopped off her summons' shoulder and sent the creature back to its realm.

"I hope you Konoha bastar….ummm, ninjas have a medic. I rescued this guy and I did what I could to patch him up." called out the redhead.

Tsume exchanged looks with her Hyūga scout that nodded in the affirmative. Tsume said, "Identify yourself kunoichi."

"I'm Tayuya and I want to defect from Oto." She motioned to Hiashi. "I found him fighting a losing battle when I was escaping the Oto lines so I brought him with me."

Tsume came up and the feral woman said, "I'm Inuzuka Tsume. We've been looking for this one." Tsume motioned the medics to come tend Hiashi seeing there were no traps involved. "Why are you defecting?"

Tayuya spat out angrily, "I was a bodyguard to that fucker Orochimaru and I overheard him telling that four-eyed chicken-shit Kabuto that I was going to be sacrificed along with Oto Village so they could escape!" The girl was obviously raging. "So I grabbed the maps of Oto Village's defenses and got the hell out of town. I'll give you all the maps if you'll grant me amnesty."

The Inuzuka Clan head gave a wolfish grin. She pointed to Hiashi and said, "Do you know who he is?"

Tayuya shrugged and said. "I know he's a strong fucker. He killed dozens of Oto troops before he got knocked out. Why?"

"Let's just say he's someone important." said Tsume. "You bringing him back to us will earn you some points with Jiraiya-sama. Can I see those maps?"

The redhead pulled out a scroll and said "There's a big pile of maps. Let me unseal them." Tayuya kneeled over the scroll and quietly said, "Unseal." A plethora of maps appeared in front of a slightly surprised Tsume who started going through them with wide eyes. The clan head whistled.

Tsume said, "These maps are dated _yesterday_. How did you get these?"

The redhead answered, "The snake fag had me in charge of setting up defenses around Oto Village to fight off the Konoha forces. When I left I took them all with me. I've been hauling ass since this morning to get to Konoha forces to defect."

"These appear to be genuine but I'm not an expert." said Tsume. Tayuya was about to say something but Tsume cut her off and said, "I think you are trustworthy. I trust my instincts."

The medic on Tsume's Team said, "Hiashi-sama is going to be alright but we need to take him back to our medical tent at headquarters to heal him properly. He's suffering from chakra exhaustion as well."

"Let's get these maps sealed back up Tayuya." said Tsume. "We need to move out."

….

 **Fire Country. Konoha, Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto was cleaning up his apartment. Ever since Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake started coming to visit him he was making an effort to keep the place spic and span. ' _With a dozen shadow clones it's actually pretty easy to keep the place clean_.' thought the blonde. ' _Since we got back from Midori Village early enough Team 7 will be taking a patrol or two after lunch. It sure is nice having Blake-chan and Pyrrha-chan on my team. Blake-chan said she would pick up lunch this time so odds are it will be seafood. I think she loves fish as much as I love ramen_.' As Naruto finished wiping down his kitchen he heard a knock at the door. ' _They are awfully early_.' he thought.

After checking through the peephole on his door a puzzled Naruto opened it up to Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei; isn't it a bit early to start our patrol? Don't tell me you are going to start showing up _early_ instead of late!"

Kakashi gave a double eye smile. "Actually I knew you three were meeting here for lunch and I need help with my report on the Beowolf and other Creatures of Grimm. The Hokage wants everyone to understand the threat is out there."

"Hmmm….Makes sense that Jiji would want everyone to know." said the orange loving ninja. "Come on in and tell me how I can help."

….

 **Rice Country, Oto Village**

Kabuto was shaking in fear. After ordering a manhunt to find the missing Tayuya he went to her command tent and found that the maps spread over the table were all old ones that were out of date. _'Orochimaru-sama is going to be furious! All evidence points towards her abandoning Oto. With those maps the Konoha forces could avoid and overrun our defenses easily! This is bad;_ _ **really bad!**_ ' As the apprentice of Orochimaru travelled towards headquarters he hoped that Orochimaru-sama wouldn't take his head off over this….

When Kabuto got Headquarters he heard Orochimaru ranting and raving through the door of the Command Room about how incompetent his underlings were. Knocking crisply Kabuto heard Orochimaru's voice snap, " ** _Who is it?_** "

"I have urgent news regarding Tayuya, Orochimaru-sama." squeaked out Kabuto. "May I enter?"

"Come in Kabuto." said Orochimaru in a tired tone of voice. When Kabuto entered he saw the place was a mess from Orochimaru raging earlier. On the positive side there were no dead bodies…. "What do you have to report Kabuto? Was she injured fighting Konoha forces or something?"

Kabuto swallowed heavily and said, "Orochimaru-sama; all evidence I have found indicates that Tayuya defected to the Konoha side with all the maps of our village defenses. She vanished early this morning and there has been no sign of her since."

" ** _WHAAAT?!_** " screeched Orochimaru. " ** _DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!_** " The snake sannin was hyperventilating for a few seconds and then shattered his work table to pieces with his fist in anger. Bringing himself back under a facade of self control, Orochimaru said calmly, "Explain your evidence to me Kabuto."

Kabuto bowed. "Yes my Lord. Tayuya left around 9 AM this morning under the pretence that she was going to procure supplies from Jirōbō. Before she left she specifically told her subordinates to guard her tent and not let _anyone_ in until she returned. I outrank her and was able to enter the tent. When I did I went through the maps there and found that they are the old and outdated maps her team used to make the new maps with all of our new traps and fortifications. Given it is 6 PM she had nine hours to cross into Konoha territory and three would have sufficed. No one has seen Tayuya anywhere since she left including Jirōbō who I contacted via messenger hawk. I can only conclude that she has gone over to the enemy side. Those maps would have bought her freedom in Fire Country…. That concludes my report Orochimaru-sama."

The Snake sanin sat down in a rolling chair that he'd damaged earlier while having a fit. "Have you dispatched hunter teams to find her Kabuto?" asked Orochimaru in a resigned tone.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama." said the glasses wearing ninja. "I ordered a full scale manhunt for her thirty minutes ago and came straight here to report to you afterwards."

"I will summon you later Kabuto." said Orochimaru in a morose tone. "For now I need to ponder this situation in private."

"By your leave." said Kabuto. He quickly left afterwards.

Orochimaru looked around at his demolished command room. "What the hell am I going to do now?" he wondered aloud….

….

 **Fire Country. Konoha, Market District**

Blake was on her way to get some lunch for her team at her favorite sushi restaurant when she ran into Tenten and Neji. The feline faunus girl knew Tenten of course but she'd never crossed paths with Neji before. Tenten waved her friend down. "Blake; are you out for lunch?"

The cat eared girl nodded and answered, "I'm picking up lunch for my team actually. I'm going to the sushi bar to put in an order."

Neji stepped forward. "I am Hyūga Neji; Tenten's teammate under Gai-sensei."

The black haired girl shook his hand. "Blake Belladonna of Team 7; nice to make your acquaintance."

Tenten said, "So you are the gopher for lunch this time?"

"Actually I'm doing it because Naruto always does it." admitted Blake. "Since we are meeting at his place to eat I figured it was the least I could do."

As the girls conversed on the way over to the sushi place; Neji was carefully scrutinizing Blake. ' _She has a well toned, athletic body and seems to have excellent manners_.' He admired her slim exposed midriff and noted her katana and kusarigama. ' _Blake is exceptionally well bred and obviously very strong. She also seems rather quiet.'_ thought Neji approvingly _. "Blake would make an excellent addition to Team 9. How should I go about asking her? It's a waste of her time to be on that thrown together Team 7 with that loser Uzumaki_.'

After the three put in their orders (Blake said her orders were to go) the three genins sat down at a table under an umbrella. "Having a combination katana and kusarigama is really innovative." said Tenten happily. "Dad and I have been pulling out all the stops on the Gambol Shroud. The sheath being an auxiliary weapon is great too."

As the bun haired girl carried on happily about Blake's weapon of choice, Neji was trying to get a word in edgewise….and was getting frustrated. ' _If Tenten would stop talking about weapons I could actually_ _ **join**_ _in the conversation_.' "I'd like to see this new weapon when it's done." said Neji. "It sounds interesting."

The bun haired girl turned to Neji with a look that could only be described as shock. "Ummm….since when have you had _any_ interest in weapons at all Neji? Are you feeling well?"

Neji huffed affronted. "From your description I thought it sounded innovative. If Blake-san created the design she must be quite talented. I wondered if I could use such a weapon."

Tenten snickered. "Neji; my Dad wouldn't even _consider_ making the Gambol Shroud until Blake displayed her _expertise_ with the kusarigama. The Gambol Shroud is a weapon that could easily kill its user without years of training. I'd have to practice _a lot_ before I even _touch_ the Gambol Shroud and I'm fairly proficient with a kusarigama."

Neji turned to Blake. "So you are a prodigy with the kusarigama? I am impressed if you are better than Tenten. I would like to see how you use it."

Blake looked thoughtful and said, "I'll have to get used to my new Gambol Shroud before I go demonstrating it to anybody. It's going to require lots of minor adjustments before it's perfected. I have every faith that Tenten and her Father are going to turn out a superb weapon."

"Well, I'd still like to see this Gambol Shroud." said Neji.

About that time Blake heard her name called. "Sounds like my order is ready. I will see you later Tenten. It was nice meeting you Neji."

Neji was going to call after her but the cat eared girl was gone in a flash….

….

 **Rice Country, Konoha Command tent**

Jiraiya was grinning like a madman as Shikaku went over the maps with Tayuya's help in pointing out the defenses. The Toad sanin said, "As the Commander of the Konoha forces I grant you full amnesty Tayuya. That's the least I can do for you for saving Hiashi and delivering these maps." ' _You don't know the hell I'm going to rain on you Orochimaru. With these maps we've been given a golden opportunity_.'

Tayuya said politely, "Thank you Jiraiya-sama. I am in your care." The red haired kunoichi was in a fairly good mood. She had been questioned both by Jiraiya and Yamanaka Inoichi but it was more like an interview than an interrogation. At no point did she feel in danger and they never even seized her weapons. ' _Of course, I've got nothing to hide_.' thought the redhead to herself. ' _I've got to say Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru couldn't be more different. At least I'm safe_.'

….

 **Rice Country, Konoha Medical Tent**

Hiashi awoke with a start and saw one of his clansmen watching over him. It was Hyūga Hoheto. The topknot wearing Hyūga said, "Hiashi-sama; I am glad you are awake. Try not to move around too much or you'll aggravate you injuries. You are also suffering from chakra exhaustion so relax."

Hiashi said in a hoarse voice, "No wonder I am so tired. What happened Hoheto? My men….are they safe?"

Hoheto quickly gave the clan head some water for his parched throat which Hiashi drank greedily. As Hiashi drank his water; Hoheto said, "Your squad made it back fine Hiashi-sama." Seeing then Clan Head relax a bit Hoheto said, "You were found by a young Oto kunoichi who was defecting from Orochimaru's forces. She treated your wounds and brought you back to our forces. We feared we had lost you Hiashi-sama. It was a great relief to all the clan members that you were returned safely."

The clan head finished his water and said, "I would like to meet this kunoichi. I owe her my deepest thanks. What is her name Hoheto?"

"Her name is Tayuya." answered Hoheto. "Apparently she was one of Orochmaru's bodyguards at one point."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "This Tayuya was that high in the ranks and she defected?"

Hoheto nodded. "I don't know all the details but Jiraiya-sama has granted her full amnesty from Oto for her actions. She apparently has a great deal of intelligence on the enemy and has agreed to share it in return."

After a few more minutes of talking Hiashi dozed back off again. He thought of Hinata and Hanabi as he drifted off to sleep. _'I will see both of you soon my little angels_ ….'

….

 **Fire Country. Konoha, Naruto's Apartment**

Blake arrived at Naruto's apartment with the lunches for Team 7 and was soon let in by Naruto. "Blake-chan, you're right on time!" said the blonde ninja with a beaming smile. Blake blushed a tiny bit and smiled. "Let me help you with the food." said Naruto as he led her inside.

The faunus girl saw Pyrrha at the dinner table working on a paper furiously. She looked up briefly and said, "Hello again!" before she went back to work.

Kakashi was also there and waved with a "Yo!"

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei." said Blake, "If I'd known you were going to be here I would have picked you up some lunch too."

"Don't worry about it." said the jonin. "I already ate. Can you draw like Pyrrha-chan can Blake?"

Blake raised an eyebrow at the odd question before Naruto explained, "Hokage-Jiji wants a report on the different kinds of Grimm. I don't know what they look like so Pyrrha-chan is drawing them for Kakashi-sensei's report.

The feline faunus girl asked, "Why didn't you just sketch them yourself Kakashi-sensei?"

Pyrrha let out a completely unladylike snort but kept drawing and Naruto openly laughed as he snatched a paper away from where Kakashi and gave it to Blake. On it was a hairy stick figure with little triangles representing teeth and claws. Blake stared as Naruto said, "That's Kakashi-sensei's drawing of a Beowolf." Naruto shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. All those years of art school gone to waste Kakashi-sensei."

Blake tried hard not to laugh. _She really did_. Alas, the faunus girl exploded into hysterical laughter and Kakashi just sweat dropped….

….

 **Rice Country, Konoha Command tent**

Hours later; with the masses of data the maps provided; Jiraiya and his planning staff had completely revised their strategy. They had called for a halt in the slow going offensive Konoha started that morning in order to revise their plans. "We must assume that Orochimaru is aware that we have these plans." said Nara Shikaku. "In spite of the delay a night offensive wouldn't be to our advantage even though the enemy is vulnerable right now."

"So we wait for the bulk of the Second Division to arrive in the morning and start a multi pronged offensive?" asked Akimichi Choza.

"Precisely." said Jiraiya. "We've already found five areas in their lines that are only protected by troops without any fortifications to back them up. Moving rapidly through those areas will allow us to completely flank their first and second lines of defense. Within two days we should be right on top of Oto Village itself."

"Do you think we can trust that Tayuya girl and these maps you are using?" asked Morino Ibiki. "I haven't even interrogated her."

Yamanaka Inoichi grinned at the psychological sadist and said, "Trust me Ibiki. Jiraiya-sama and I spoke at length with her and she wants Orochimaru to go down as badly as we do."

Jiraiya added, "Besides, all they information our scouting forces have gathered through the day correlate to the maps and information she has down to the last digit. Just because the situation seems too convenient to you doesn't mean that it isn't true Ibiki. I've seen more than my fair share of crazy things happen during a war. Shikaku's right though. We know this information but we have to assume that Orochimaru realizes we know it as well. He's going to try his damndest to counter the situation but the gaps in the lines we are going to exploit are simply too damn big for him to stop us."

Tsume asked, "So what's the ETA of the second division? I'm going to be putting my pup Hana to work helping our ninken."

"They should be here at dawn tomorrow." said Choza. "Once they've rested and gotten a good meal in them they should be good to go."

Shikaku nodded. "Once the logistics are in place we'll move out. If we stay on schedule then it will be about 8 AM."

For the first time since this mess began the Konoha forces were brmming with confidence….

….

 **Konoha, Main Square**

That night, genin Teams 7, 8, 9 and 10 were all in the mission hall filling out their reports. Each team had two patrols that day and absolutely _nothing_ of note had happened during their patrols as far as _combat_ was concerned. They were all discussing this and other than Neji (who claimed he didn't have time for it) they all decided to do something after they finished their reports for the day. So what do ten bored young genins do after a hard long day of patrolling the village? They go to the theatre to see the latest movie and blow off some steam at the cheap late night show:

 ** _Ninjas vs. Zombies XVII: The Return of the Son of Goremaster_**

Ino shrieked in horror as the fourteenth scantily clad _kunoichi_ was eaten by the zombies in just as many minutes. Why was she shrieking? Did she actually identify with the bubble headed bimbo on the screen because they were both blonde? Well, no actually. (Ino was naturally blonde. The so called actress obviously had on a wig that kept slipping). Ino was shrieking because the special effects were so bad that most children's plays were more dramatic.

The movie's _ninja_ hero came on the screen and beheaded a dozen zombies with his chainsaw sword. Naturally the army of undead was still coming. "Ugh, this is nauseating." complained Blake as she ate her popcorn.

"You mean the gallon of creamed corn they threw on that guy that was supposed to be flesh melting, undead stomach acid from hell?" asked Naruto as he stifled a snort at the horrible method acting.

Pyrrha sighed. "I have to agree that was a truly tasteless scene." said the redhead in agreement. "This is pitiful."

"No, that's not it." said Blake. "I do agree that was horrible though."

"No kidding." said Choji. "Throwing away perfectly good creamed corn like that is _criminally_ wasteful."

"I think the acting is the worst part." said Hinata as she sipped her soda. "If you can even _call_ it acting."

"I agree" said Tenten. "If I had my arm bitten off by a zombie I'd imagine I would be screaming in pain a bit."

Naruto laughed. "The girl was supposed to be going into shock. It was shockingly _bad_."

Hinata smiled evilly. "Fortunately she died in the next scene Naruto-kun…. After spraying more fake blood than a human body could possibly contain all over the place."

Shikamaru said, "This whole movie is a drag. When the flesh eating worm sock puppet came off the guy's hand in the middle of the scene it was horrifically tacky. This is the worst thing I've seen since **_Ninjas vs. Zombies XVI_**."

Blake face palmed. "Special effects aside; the book this movie was based on was really excellent. They totally botched it."

Ino and Kiba burst into laughter as one of the characters died in an explosion of totally fake gore.

Shino simply asked, "You mean there was actually a _book_ of this abomination?"

"They said the screenplay was adapted from the book, _The Haunted Labyrinth_. I'm so disgusted." said Blake as if she'd eaten something bad. "This is making a mockery of what was an enjoyable piece of literature."

Naruto chortled as some 'cut off' rubber limbs wiggled by on the screen. "So if it's not the horrible acting or the special effects then what is it Blake-chan?"

The faunus girl narrowed her amber eyes and said, "They cut out all of the _gratuitously hot sex!_ What's with all this mindless T  & A?! There should be lots of _steamy, creamy, hot bodies_ covered in oil all proudly on display!"

Everyone present turned to Blake with wide eyed looks of shock and disbelief frozen on their faces.

Blake had the decency to blush. "Well, that's what I think anyway." The cat eared girl squeaked out.

Needless to say the group of genins was a bit _preoccupied_ for the rest of the show….

….

As the group left the theatre they were discussing the masterpiece they'd just watched. "Well, that was a low budget film." said Pyrrha politely. "I guess they did their best with what they had."

"You're giving it too much credit Pyrrha-chan." said Ino. "I think they covered the production costs of that disaster with our ticket prices alone."

Shino added, "I agree, you are far too gracious Pyrrha. That movie was pure garbage."

"Anyone up for snacks?" asked Choji. "Seeing that movie made me hungry."

Ino giggled. "After seeing all those people get eaten you are hungry Choji?"

"Actually, after watching that zombie cannibal buffet I'm hungry too." said Naruto. "Where is some succulent young kunoichi flesh to eat?"

Ino, Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake all blushed slightly at that totally tactless comment. Tenten just laughed.

"Troublesome. Think before you talk knucklehead." said Shikamaru.

Naruto suddenly blushed beet red realizing the implications of what he'd said. "Sorry…." squeaked out Naruto.

The group soon settled on Yakiniku Q and generally had a good time talking before the genins all decided to call it a night.

Things were peaceful in Konoha….for now….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

This chapter was a bit odd to write, being split between the battlefront and the home front. I almost had the two separate plotlines completely separated but eventually I was able to blend the two to my liking. I hope everyone likes what I did with Tayuya and Hiashi. Things will probably be faster paced next chapter because the war is going to be more ferocious as it moves towards a climax. Jiraiya is setting up to make a big move and Orochimaru is at a bit of a loss. The Konoha side of things was really more character driven than plot driven. Things are tense and the genins need some downtime given how much is going on so I gave them a night out at the movies (as opposed to my original idea of drinking and gambling). Thanks everyone for reading. See you next time. Blue out. 8/7/16


	14. Chapter 14

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Well, I'm currently in the process of updating **_Dragon's Maw_** at long last. Once it's updated; for a brief, shining moment my primary stories will all be fairly up to date! I got inspired to write a chapter of **_Tornado of Souls_** out of the blue. I originally was going to focus on the war this chapter but ended up developing the home front instead. Next chapter will primarily be about the Konoha/Oto War as a result. Here is chapter 14. Enjoy!

Last time:

 _"Anyone up for snacks?" asked Choji. "Seeing that movie made me hungry."_

 _Ino giggled. "After seeing all those people get eaten you are hungry Choji?"_

 _"Actually, after watching that zombie cannibal buffet I'm hungry too." said Naruto. "Where is some succulent young kunoichi flesh to eat?"_

 _Ino, Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake all blushed slightly at that totally tactless comment. Tenten just laughed._

 _"Troublesome. Think before you talk knucklehead." said Shikamaru._

 _Naruto suddenly blushed beet red realizing the implications of what he'd said. "Sorry…." squeaked out Naruto._

 _The group soon settled on Yakiniku Q and generally had a good time talking before the genins all decided to call it a night._

 _Things were peaceful in Konoha….for now…._

Chapter 14

 **Konoha, Training Ground 52**

Early in the morning Team 7 was gathered and waiting for Blake who went to pick up her new Gambol Shroud. An elated Tenten stopped Blake on the way to the training field and informed the faunus girl it was done. Blake told the others to go ahead and meet up with Kakashi-sensei. As it was, Blake only ended up being about twenty minutes late and soon showed off her new weapon to her sensei and teammates. "The Gambol Shroud has twenty individual, tiny exploding tags that are charged by chakra to propel it and change its direction mid flight." explained Blake.

"So that's why you wanted Pyrrha-chan and I to invent those tiny exploding tags. Cool!" exclaimed Naruto eagerly.

"Have you tested it yet?" asked Kakashi. "It wouldn't do to have an untried weapon in combat."

Blake said shyly, "I was hoping Naruto-kun could help me practice with some shadow clones."

Naruto beamed. "So you need an army of evildoers to fight Blake-chan? I'm your man. Who do you want them to look like? Zombies from that horrible movie we all saw last night?"

Pyrrha burst into laughter. "That movie was terrible! Make your clones look like the Goremaster!"

Kakashi asked, "Do I really want to know about this movie?" All three genins shook their heads 'no' in perfect sync with one another. "I'll have to recommend it to Asuma and Kurenai then. What's the title?"

"It was _Ninjas vs. Zombies XVII: The Return of the Son of Goremaster_." said Blake with a groan. "Personally I think Anko nee-chan could use it as a torture method." The feline faunus girl turned to Naruto. "Can you make your shadow clones turn into beowolves? That way I could really cut loose."

"Okay Blake-chan." said Naruto. "One army of beowolves coming up."

…. _Blake and the others spent their morning having fun battling beowolves wearing Goremaster and Orochimaru t-shirts_ ….

….

 **Konoha, Market District**

By the late afternoon Team 7 was on their second patrol of the day. They soon were pursuing something unexpected –a cloaked ninja of unknown origins. He'd been in the red light district looking like someone destitute when he was reported as suspicious by one of the locals. The mystery man hadn't done anything per se but when Team 7 called out to talk to him he threw a flash grenade and ran at ninja speeds up the side of the nearest building. Kakashi's team had been pursuing him ever since. Naruto crested a rooftop and spotted their quarry. "He's gone into the alley behind Tomoe's Market! He's definitely headed towards the east gates of the village!"

"Keep track of him from up high Naruto." said Kakashi over the radio. "Team 9 under Gai is also moving to intercept and Pyrrha is right behind him."

Pyrrha slid around the corner at high speeds using chakra in her feet to counter her momentum and saw the elusive ninja running in the alley ahead of her. The redhead drew her sword and charged after him at top speed. ' _I have you now!_ ' she thought as she closed the distance. Pyrrha quickly radioed, "I have the target in sight and am pursuing him." The cloaked man turned and threw a handful of shuriken at the red haired gladiator. Pyrrha quickly used her magnet release to cause the shurikens to veer slightly off course and shot through the barrage unscathed. The mystery ninja cursed and took off running again. He threw a smoke bomb to cover his escape before he hopped onto the back wall of the market and dashed up over the roof….

"He just went over the market roof and is headed across the street towards Shima's Produce." radioed Naruto.

The unknown ninja was barely able to dodge three kunai from Tenten that had just arrived on the scene. He dived for cover into the produce store as Tenten's second volley hit and pinned his cloak to the wall of the building. He quickly dropped his cloak as he couldn't get it loose. As Tenten pursued him into the building he attempted to combat the young kunoichi in taijutsu but Tenten was no slouch in that area given she was Gai's student. She knocked the ninja back with a mid kick and drew to more kunai that she quickly spun into the ready position. The elusive ninja was deliberating whether or not he should face Tenten when Pyrrha arrived and the ninja bolted again –straight out the back door of the produce store.

"He just left the back of Shima's Produce and headed east down the alley." said Naruto over the radio. "He's knocking over dumpsters to slow you guys down so watch your footing."

"Roger Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha as she took the point position. As the two kunoichis chased their prey they were dodging all sorts of debris the mystery man scattered behind him. The ninja flipped over a fence and hit the ground running towards an apartment complex. Naruto lost sight of him and said, "He's out of my visual range on the north side of the apartments. I'm changing positions."

"There is no need." said Neji over the radio. "Unlike your eyes; the byakugan sees through such trivial objects."

Naruto growled "Then stop bragging and help me spot him Neji-baka!"

"I don't need to help someone that's beyond helping Uzumaki." said Neji. "I'm moving to intercept."

"Less chatter!" called Kakashi. "Neji can take over the spotting. Move to intercept Naruto."

"Too late!" called Neji as he leapt in front of the ninja racing along the north side of the apartments. "You are within the range of my div– _ooof!_ "

Tenten and Pyrrha arrived just in time to see the ninja go aerial while using Neji's face as a springboard to gain some distance from the girls. Naruto sweat dropped from his position and said, "This is Naruto. I've spotted the target again and am maintaining position. He's headed just south of Ichiraku's Ramen. Blake-chan; you can intercept him there!"

"I'm on it." said Blake as she dashed behind Ichiraku's Ramen and concealed herself.

Neji was getting back up sporting a footprint on his face and was absolutely furious. Pyrrha and Tenten saw the angry Hyūga was standing back up. They shot past him leaving Neji behind so he could catch up. "Arrrgh! I'll teach him to humiliate me." spat out the cursing Hyūga prodigy. Neji overheard Naruto on the radio directing the others and telling Blake to change positions. Following with his byakugan Neji saw Blake was in an ideal place to ambush the escaping ninja – _if_ he stayed close to the side of the street she was on….unfortunately he wasn't within the reach of a kusarigama. "Blake-san, he's headed your way but he's out of your range!" radioed the Hyūga prodigy.

Blake saw her target as she threw her Gambol Shroud's blade across the street ahead of him. The ninja went to leap over the extendable wire but at the apex of the weapon's arc Blake sent a chakra charge down to the handle of the kusarigama that set off a chakra charge that sent the blade flying back towards the escaping ninja faster than he could react. He screamed bloody murder as the Gambol Shroud's blade tasted blood for the first time. The still airborne ninja continued to fly forward as his right leg fell below the arc of the Gambol shroud which Blake caught with practiced ease.

Pyrrha followed up her teammate by pouncing on the mystery man and slapping a restraining seal on their fallen prey. The ninja jolted as his body was restrained in a chakra web that kept him from moving _or_ accessing his chakra. Pyrrha said over the radio. "The target is captured and subdued. He needs medical attention quickly or he'll bleed out!"

Kakashi landed beside Pyrrha quickly and activated a fire jutsu. The ninja cried out as the stump of his right leg was cauterized in an instant. The mystery man then blacked out from the pain. The silver haired jonin nodded as Naruto landed nearby and Blake walked up cleaning the blood off her blade. "He'll live." said Kakashi to his three genins. "Well done team."

Gai quickly ran up with Neji who was trying to wipe the footprint off his face to maintain his dignity. Tenten was already on site because she'd been travelling with Pyrrha. "You okay Neji?" asked Tenten. Neji just looked sullen and nodded in the affirmative. Tenten turned to Blake and said, "What do you think of the new Gambol Shroud?" There were stars glittering in the weapons mistress's eyes.

Blake gave one of her minimal smiles and said, "It's excellent! I really wasn't expecting to put it to the test in actual combat so soon. I'm glad Naruto-kun helped me train with his shadow clones this morning."

"It seems that you _do_ have a use after all Uzumaki." said Neji in a superior tone. "You make a good training dummy for Blake-san; not that she needs any help from a loser like you."

Pyrrha looked scandalized and Blake looked angry but Naruto said smoothly. "Better to be a help to Blake-chan as a dummy than aiding the enemy by offering your _face_ as a stepping stone. For someone who sees all you sure are _blind_."

Neji lost his composure and said angrily, "Why you lowborn idiot! Your new teammates are too good for a weakling like you! You belonged with that misfit Uchiha and foolish Haruno!"

The Hyūga prodigy suddenly felt a fist planted so deeply in his gut that it was elevating him as he flew backwards and landed _hard_ on his back. Neji spit out blood as he hacked and coughed trying to regain his breath. Naruto towered over him and Neji saw the blonde's eyes burning with a fire of pure hatred. Naruto grabbed Neji's hair and wrenched the Hyūga up to his knees. Yanking Neji's hair hard enough to cause him to cry out; Naruto roared, " _If you_ _ **EVER**_ _compare me to that traitorous Uchiha again I will stab out your eyes and leave you crippled for life! You're a disgrace to Konoha ninjas you son of a bitch!_ " With that Naruto let go of Neji's hair and kicked him straight in the throat sending the still choking Hyūga tumbling.

Naruto felt a firm hand on his shoulder and saw Kakashi there. "That's enough Naruto. We need everyone in fighting trim including Neji. I'm sure that Gai will be talking with his student about this business later."

Gai nodded and said, "Naruto-kun; be proud of Team 7. You have done well. It seems that Tenten-chan and I need to stoke Neji-kun's _Flames of Youth_ as they have diminished greatly. I apologize on his behalf." Gai turned to Tenten. "Help Neji-kun up and take him to get checked by the medics. I will help Kakashi take this enemy ninja to a cell where he will be taken care of."

Kakashi said to his genins, "Head over to Ichiraku's and grab an early dinner. Just relax and I'll meet you after we take care of this prisoner."

….

 **Konoha, Ichiraku's Ramen**

Naruto was sitting back patting his stomach. He'd only had nine bowls of ramen but the altercation with Neji killed part of his appetite. He looked over at his lovely companions and saw Pyrrha as she ate her beef ramen in her usual polite manner. Her green eyes turned to him and she said, "You were totally in the right Naruto-kun. Neji's behavior was inexcusable." She patted his hand with hers and she smiled.

Naruto smiled back and said, "Thanks Pyyrha-chan. I-" He heard a happy sound somewhere between a hum and a cat purring. Looking over he saw Blake savoring her second bowl of seafood ramen with extra tuna. "Naruto smiled and said, "Is that good Blake -chan?"

"Mmmm….It's wonderful." purred Blake happily. She turned to Naruto and said, "Pyrrha is right. That Neji is a _total_ jerk. I had no idea. I hate the way he acts like he's superior to everyone else. Team 7 will always have your back Naruto-kun."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "Let's all go over to your apartment and do something together tonight after we get off duty Naruto-kun. We can play a game or just watch some TV."

Naruto's eyes lit up. He wasn't looking forward to another boring evening alone. "That would be great Pyrrha-chan! What do you think Blake-chan?"

Blake's amber eyes were filled with happiness. "Sure, I'd love to hang out."

"Great! Hmmm….I wonder where Kakashi-sensei is?" wondered Naruto. "He's been awhile and it's getting dim." Naruto turned to his favorite ramen chefs. "Ayame nee-chan, Teuchi-jiji; how long have we been here?"

Ayame smiled and said, "You three have only been here an hour Naruto-kun. You all were so occupied eating and talking that you didn't notice that a storm was blowing in."

All three genins sweat dropped as they peered out through the flaps of the ramen shack and saw dark thunderheads had blown in without them even noticing. Within moments it was pouring rain down in sheets. Blake jumped when a thunderbolt struck near the village. She grabbed Naruto's hand. Naruto soon found himself sandwiched between Blake and Pyrrha when lighting split the heavens with a blinding flash and it started hailing slightly.

The three genin's radios blared to life and Kakashi's voice came through. "This is Kakashi; are you three still at Ichiraku's?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei; we are still here." said Pyrrha. "We were just discussing the weather that just rushed in."

The radio crackled. "Gai and I were discussing the same thing." said Kakashi. "It looks like we're going to cancel our evening genin patrols. You don't know the chakra exercises to repel hail so head on home. There's no way I'm going to get you three concussed. Drowning you is one thing but head injuries are quite another."

"Your concern for us brings a tear to my eye Kakashi-sensei." said Blake in a flat tone.

All three genins could _feel_ their sensei's double eye smile through the transmission. "No need to thank me my cute little genins! Just head on home. We can fill out our reports in the morning. I've already taken care of my report so yours are just a follow up anyway. Later!"

Blake, Pyrrha and Naruto all sweat dropped. "He's certainly in a chipper mood. It looks like we should each head home when the hail lets up." said Pyrrha.

The three members of Team seven waited for the hail to stop temporarily and shot towards their homes when it let up. Pyrrha headed towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop using her shield as a makeshift umbrella while Blake and Naruto shot towards Hashirama Lane because their apartments were in the same direction.

….

 **Yamanaka Flower Shop**

Pyyrha came rushing inside the shop and found Ayano and Ino were closing the place up given the weather was so dismal. "Hello again!" said the radiant redhead. "I'm glad I had my shield over my head when the hail returned."

Ayano looked up and said, "Pyrrha-chan, we're glad you are home. It must be awful out. Ino-chan got home just before the hailstorm blew in."

Ino saw Pyrrha was breathing a bit heavily, "Are you okay Pyrrha-chan? You're out of breath."

"I had to run flat out from Ichiraku's across town to here when the hail let up. I'm a bit winded I'm afraid." explained the gladiator. "How can I help close up the shop?"

"You can _help_ by sitting down and relaxing Pyrrha-chan." said Ayano. "You always push yourself too hard. Just take it easy."

"I got lucky and was already walking home when the rain started." explained Ino. "I got a little damp but you are drenched Pyrrha-chan. Go on in and take a warm bath before you catch cold."

"That's a good idea." agreed Ayano. "You just soak while we finish up here."

Pyrrha reluctantly agreed and went to take a hot bath….

….

 **Konoha, Residential District**

' _This is almost too easy_.' thought a person in a gray rain cloak and hood as they stuck to the shadows in the storm. ' _Slipping into Konoha was child's play under the cover of this thunderstorm. It was just as easy as slipping out. With them all distracted by the war I suppose it's understandable though_.' "They should be more careful." said the person with a raspy chuckle. "Of course they _are_ a bit undermanned at the moment." Seeing the shadows of a Konoha patrol nearby the person slipped soundlessly into the wet earth and awaited a chance to go after their target….

….

 **Harashima Lane**

By the time Naruto and Blake made it to Naruto's apartment building both of them were totally drenched. They ran up the stairs to Naruto's place when it started hailing again. Blake's white clothes were translucent and her (cat) ears were drenched through her bow. Reacting without thinking she whipped her black bow off to prevent the water from draining into her sensitive ears.

Naruto's eyes were big as saucers and he whispered, "Kawaii…."

Blake realized what she'd done and was going to cover her ears with whatever she could find but then she realized what Naruto had uttered. Her ears stood up and pivoted to face Naruto. "Did you just say my ears were….cute Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled happily and said, "There so adorable Blake-chan! What a cool bloodline. Why do you hide them?" The hail started to really pick up and Naruto said, "You'd best come in and dry off Blake-chan. I'm not letting you get hurt in this hailstorm."

Blake was shocked as Naruto grabbed her hand and led her up to his apartment. ' _He doesn't act any different_ _ **at all**_ _after seeing my ears?_ '

Naruto fished his keys out of his pocket and let them in. Turning on the light he said, "Let me get some towels and you can tell me all about your kawaii ears." That's when he noticed the white parts of Blake's uniform were basically see through. He blushed and started to get a nosebleed. Tearing his eyes away from the heavenly vision in front of him; Naruto choked out, "T-t-towels! _Big_ towels for Blake-chan!" ' _I hope Blake-chan doesn't think I'm a pervert!_ ' he thought as he tried to will back his raging hard on to no avail.

Luckily for Naruto, Blake was too preoccupied with her ears showing at this point. She blushed and smiled softly. ' _Naruto-kun thinks my ears are_ _ **kawaii**_ _!_ ' She basically hugged herself in excitement and realized she was soaked to the bone…. _'Oh my god! My white clothes are_ _ **completely**_ _see through!_ ' she mentally shrieked.

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Ayano called out to her daughter from the base of the stairs. "Ino-chan, go check on Pyrrha-chan. She's been in the bath for a while." Hearing nothing but the storm outside falling on the roof the Yamanaka Matriarch thought to herself; ' _If Ino-chan's door is closed she probably can't even hear me_.' Ascending the stairs Ayano saw her daughter's room was indeed closed with the light on. "Since I'm here I'll check on Pyrrha-chan myself I guess." muttered Ayano to herself. She heard thunder outside as well as a breaking noise. Looking back towards the stairwell Ayano saw the last thing she expected: A girl was standing there waterlogged in a rain cloak and hood. Her pale skin contrasted with her wet pink hair that was showing. Ayano gasped and said, "Sakura-chan, is that you?!"

"Hello Ayano-san." said ' _Sakura_.' Ayano saw a red flash and horror took her into the darkness….

 _"Let's lay you down to sleep forever_ …."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Blake was wearing one of Naruto's oversized t-shirts and some shorts with a belt to cinch them up around her narrow waist. Her clothes were currently in Naruto's clothes washer and dryer. The blonde knew nothing about the differences between washing darks and lights together and seemed to be positively terrified of Blake's lingerie so he told her to feel free to use the washer herself. She came back into the front room and looked out the window with her ears prominently on display. ' ** _Gods help me!_** ' thought Naruto. ' _Blake-chan looks like a cat girl fantasy mate that Ero-sennin made up for one of his books. If she says meow or starts purring at me I'll positively_ _ **die**_ _from this hard on!_ ' Lightning flashed outside and silhouetted Blake's sinuous curves to Naruto. ' _Down earthly desires!_ ' Naruto mentally screamed at his throbbing member.

"Naruto-kun?" asked Blake.

The blonde looked up and saw her amber eyes scrutinizing him _very_ carefully. ' _What is she thinking about I wonder?_ ' "Yes Blake-chan?"

' _I wonder if Naruto has any idea how good he looks to me right now?_ ' thought the feline faunus girl as she studied his wiry, muscular frame that were barely hidden by a snug t-shirt and shorts. ' _All that working out has turned him into dangerous company for a girl_ ….' Lightning flashed and she and saw a wild, untamed look in Naruto's eyes that drew her like a magnet. Blake thought of a scene in her Ninjas in Love books and barely resisted her urge to lick her lips. She was sweating. ' _Heaven help me!_ _It would be so easy to give in tonight_.' she mentally purred to herself. "I don't know when this storm is going to let up Naruto-kun. Do you have a place I could sleep tonight?"

' ** _OH YES BABY!_** ' screamed Naruto's inner pervert. ' ** _She's practically wagging her tail at me! I'll make that pussy purr all night long! Bwahahaha!_** ' "Ummm….Well, why don't you take my bed Blake-chan?"

Blake thought about Naruto lying low at the foot of the bed to…. ' _He wants to lie low and ambush me_ _ **in his bed!**_ _ **OH YEAH!**_ ' thought the cat eared girl with a mental squeal. Blake blushed in the low light. "W-well, I guess we could…." She could smell the intoxicating hormones coming from Naruto in answer to her own….

"….And I'll take the spare futon in the spare bedroom." finished Naruto.

Thunder crashed outside and the power went out in the building leaving two _very aroused_ young people staring at each others hungry eyes….

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha woke up and realized she had dozed off in the tub. The redhead sweat dropped and thought to herself; ' _I can't believe I fell asleep. The water is even cold. How long was I out? I can still hear it's raining out._ ' Drying off she got dressed and exited her room. Most of the lights were turned off for the night. She peered into Ayano and Inoichi's room and saw that Ayano was sleeping peacefully. That's when Pyrrha noted that something was amiss. Ayano was fully dressed. From the way the bed sheets were it was obvious that the Yamanaka Matriarch had on her house slippers in bed as well.

The redhead quickly came in and tried to wake Ayano up to no avail. Turning on the lights in the bedroom Pyrrha realized that Ayano was unnaturally still, even for sleeping. Ayano's eyes were open and vacant. Pyrrha kept calm and checked Ayano over carefully. ' _She has a steady pulse and is breathing normally but her eyes are open and she didn't even blink when the lights came on….Has she been drugged?_ ' Thinking hard, Pyrrha suddenly came to a realization and channeled chakra. "Genjutsu kai!" she said loudly.

Ayano immediately sprang up like a live wire and was looking around fearfully. Her eyes focused on Pyrrha and the older woman immediately grasped onto the redhead in fear. "P-Pyrrha-chan! Thank the gods you are alright. I saw Sakura-chan and-and Ino-chan was killing me with a kunai! I-"

Pyrrha gripped Ayano by the shoulders and said, "Ayano; you were caught in a genjutsu. Calm down!" Seeing Ayano regain her bearings the red haired girl asked, "Did you say you saw Sakura?" Seeing Ayano nod; Pyrrha said, "Tell me what you saw."

"You were still in the bath and I went to check on you." said Ayano. "Ino-chan was in her room. I heard it was still raining heavily out and then I heard a noise in the hall and saw Sakura-chan was there. She was sopping wet and had a strange smile on her face. She said hello to me and then I saw Ino-chan was stabbing me repeatedly with a kunai. I thought I was dead and I heard Sakura say, ' _Let's lay you down to sleep forever_.' I was petrified and it kept repeating over and _over_ and _over!_ _ **It was just like what happened to the Harunos!**_ " She started to cry quietly as Pyrrha hugged her.

Pyrrha said, "Somebody placed you in a genjutsu and whoever it was knows what happened to Sakura's family. Will you be alright Ayano? I need to check on Ino-chan. She could be in danger!"

Ayano looked afraid but said, "Go check on my Ino-chan. I'll be fine."

The red haired girl nodded and gave Ayano a hug before she dashed back into her room and put on her combat gear. Pyrrha quickly opened Ino's door and turned the light on. The room was a mess but there were no signs of a struggle. She saw a shattered teacup and bloodstains from whoever's hand that had been holding it. There were a few speckles of blood here and there and they led out of the room into the bathroom where it was obviously bandaged. ' _What happened here?_ ' She held her hand by the partial handprint shaped bloodstain on the counter and thought, ' _This handprint is slightly smaller than my own; it's probably Ino-chan's_.'

Looking about in the hall she saw another bloodstain on the door that led to the Flower Shop. Drawing her Tsurugi Pyrrha went out to the shop and saw the shop door was forced open and that the rain was pouring in from outside. Pyrrha's green eyes narrowed and she slid up to the open doorway and listened. She heard voices over the rain and peered around the corner. The streetlights showed two silhouettes. One was obviously Ino's. The other could have been Sakura's but the person had some sort of rain cloak on. Pyrrha crept out in the rain and heard Sakura's voice. She sounded odd….

"Sasuke-kun is waiting for us Ino-chan!" said Sakura. "You can be with him too like I am. We're going to build a new Uchiha clan but Sasuke-kun needs more wives!"

Ino sounded shocked. "W-what happened to you Sakura? You are wearing an eye patch and….and what about Kizashi and Mebuki?" Who-"

Sakura chuckled, "They were necessary sacrifices Ino-chan. Just like Ayano will be. She's in a genjutsu so it will be painless. You just have to slit her throat and Sasuke-kun will be pleased. Then you'll belong to him like **_I_** do. We need to hurry now!"

"Y-you want me to kill my Mama?" shrieked Ino. "You killed your own parents?"

"It will prove you have no connections to Konoha anymore Ino-chan!" said Sakura in an all too happy voice. "I made it so easy for you! My parents were awake and fought me! Why do you think it was such a bloody mess?"

" _NO!_ " yelled Ino.

Sakura growled, "I won't let you throw away this chance of a lifetime Ino-chan! I'll put you in a genjutsu too."

Pyrra appeared behind Ino with her blade and shield out. She said, "I don't know who you are but you're not Sakura! Genjutsu kai!"

The wave of chakra she expelled didn't reveal anything to Pyrrha. Sakura was still standing there with a creepy smile on her face. Sakura said, "So that's it! You have tried to replace me as Ino-chan's best friend. No wonder she is confused." Sakura placed her thumb under her eye patch and flipped it upwards revealing a sharingan with three tomoes in it. Hearing both Pyrrha and Ino gasp the rosette said, "Don't worry Ino-chan. It's not Sasuke-kun's. It's a gift from dear old _departed_ Kakashi-sensei! With this I can defeat even you Pyrrha."

Sakura vanished in a blur and appeared behind Pyrrha an instant later. She had a jian sword and brought it down in a deadly arc towards Pyrrha. The gladiator countered with a brutal mule kick that sent Sakura tumbling. Pyrrha quickly took the offensive and started driving the rosette back with her superior swordsmanship. Sakura leaped back and said, "Let me show you **_real_** power Pyyrha!" The pinkette made the ram seal and flared her chakra. Black lines in a wave pattern emerged all along Sakura's skin. "With Orochimaru-sama's gift I'll crush you bitch!"

Ino gasped in horror, "A curse seal!"

Pyrrha hadn't heard much about the cursed seal but found that Sakura's strength and speed were magnified a great deal. The redhead was taking a beating until she caught Sakura in a cross slash and knocked the crazed kunoichi's jian away using her magnet release.

Sakura hissed, "I can't win without a sword. I guess we'll have to call this a draw." She glanced over at Ino. "Ino-chan, we'll continue this conversation later without interruptions. I'm your **_best_** friend and I know you love Sasuke-kun as much as I do." Sakura then vanished into the ground using the headhunter jutsu.

Ino burst into tears as lightning lit up the sky…. _Her friend Sakura was truly gone_ ….

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Blake and Naruto's tongues danced as they fell back on his bed battling for dominance. Blake quickly got on top and hungrily eyed her prey. Her hot, naked prey that was standing at full mast. Naruto pulled her down on top of him and started grinding himself heatedly into her womanhood. She struggled to get loose and ravish him but he quickly flipped over on top of her and started trailing kisses from her neck up to her cat ears. She almost went over the edge when his tongue and lips touched her sensitive cat ears feather light. Blake eagerly started kissing his neck and shoulder.

Naruto was shaking and going crazy at the sensations of Blake's rough tongue lapping up the sweat pouring from his body. He was impossibly hard when he lowered himself and started pulling the shirt off of her. He quickly latched his mouth on her exposed nipple and worshipped her like a goddess. She shivered and quickly threw Naruto's shirt she was wearing the rest of the way off with a manic smile as he slid two of his digits inside her. The faunus girl howled in ecstasy as she climaxed in his hand. She was panting on her back staring at Naruto as he whispered something with a smile as thunder roared and the lightning lit up his face.

She watched with unhidden glee as she saw Naruto withdraw his fingers from her and slowly, erotically brought them to his lips where he lapped up all her juices like the sweetest nectar and grinned hungrily. He was towering over her as he sat up on his knees ready to enter her. Blake smiled and spun back on all fours facing him before she sprang at him and tasted herself on his hungry lips. She quickly straddled his member and let out a purr as he entered her for the first time. Feeling him fill her to the hilt; her amber eyes widened and she watched their shadows silhouetted in the lightning flashes. The faunus girl became mesmerized watching their shadows make love to each other again and again in a dance as old as time itself….

….

 **Naruto's bedroom**

Blake woke up early in the morning feeling high on the afterglow and realized she was alone and more importantly, _dressed_. She felt wet and sticky as could be down low and she reached down into the shorts she borrowed from Naruto. The faunus girl felt she'd soaked them clean through into the sheets. "Oh my god….That was _the most intense wet dream_ I've ever had in my life…."she muttered in amazement. She remembered sharing a chaste kiss with Naruto before she went to bed. After that the cat eared girl had rocketed off into fantasy land.

Realizing that Naruto's bedroom and in particular his bed now smelled like her; Blake let out an uncharacteristic " ** _EEEEP!_** "

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, we saw several things happen this chapter. Sakura is alive after all. Too bad she appears to have become a complete psycho complete with a sharingan and a curse seal to boot. Teams 7 and 9 caught a spy and Neji finally crossed the line with Naruto. What repercussions will that result in? Blake has her new Gambol Shroud and we got to see some of what goes through our favorite Neko's head. Next chapter will focus more on the war but hopefully there will be room to fit more goings on in Konoha as well. See you next time. Blue out. 8/24/16


	15. Chapter 15

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

This beginning of this chapter takes place in parallel with last chapter so this starts while Blake is picking up her new Gambol Shroud. When the timelines start to mesh again I'll put in a [ _notation_.] Here is chapter 15. Enjoy!

Quote: _"My nefarious plans! My evil schemes! All ruined! Curse you adorable Corgi!" -Cinder Fall talking to Zwei, RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 ** _Naruto's bedroom_**

 _Blake woke up early in the morning feeling high on the afterglow and realized she was alone and more importantly, dressed. She felt wet and sticky as could be down low and she reached down into the shorts she borrowed from Naruto. The faunus girl felt she'd soaked them clean through into the sheets. "Oh my god….That was_ _the most intense wet dream_ _I've ever had in my life…." she muttered in amazement. She remembered sharing a chaste kiss with Naruto before she went to bed. After that the cat eared girl had rocketed off into fantasy land._

 _Realizing that Naruto's bedroom and in particular his bed now smelled like her; Blake let out an uncharacteristic "_ _ **EEEEP!**_ _"_

Chapter 15

 **Rice Country, Southern Regions**

Early in the morning the Konoha forces were marshalling and organizing into five battalions broken down from the two divisions. Jiraiya and Shikaku had put the finishing touches on their plans the night before. "Weather predicts we're going to be dealing with heavy storms this afternoon." said Shikaku. "We have about six hours of leeway to push forward before the storm front hits."

"Let's make it count then." said Jiraiya. He soon gave the order to move out and the five Konoha battalions moved rapidly towards their points of attack. To the Oto forces under Jirōbō's command the formations seemed random until the Konoha forces started charging through weak points in the Oto lines that there was no way to reinforce due to terrain or sheer distance. The breaches in the line were becoming overwhelming and the last remaining member of the Sound Four quickly called for reinforcements over the radio….

…. _All he heard was static_.

The frontline Oto forces were in total disarray and within the hour and isolated groups were being crushed by pincer movements on Jiraiya's orders. The well fortified areas that were the linchpins to Rice Country's defenses were being completely bypassed and then flanked. "How could this have happened?" cried out Jirōbō. "How could they know all of our weaknesses? This situation is hopeless. Order the men to fall back!" ordered the large Mohawk wearing boy.

That's when Gamabunta crashed into the main Oto stronghold from behind. Jirōbō's eyes grew huge as Jiraiya called out, "Bunta; give me oil! Toad Oil Bullet!" The last member of the Sound Four tried to transform into his cursed seal state only to be drenched with toad oil. As Jirōbō wiped the sticky oil out of his eyes he saw Jiraiya complete some hand signs and cry out, "Great Fireball jutsu!"

Jirōbō didn't have time to scream as the conflagration burned him and his forces alive. For the remaining Oto forces this was an apocalypse. Their spirits broke seeing their main fortress get consumed in a pillar of flame and they began to route in terror. By not retreating in an organized manner they were wide open to being picked off by every jutsu and projectile available to the Konoha forces. It was a colossal military disaster due to Tayuya's plans being in Konoha's hands. By the time the heavy storms came rushing in that afternoon the first three lines of Oto's defenses were completely overrun and the remaining Oto troops were in a disorganized state that only made matters worse. Many simply ran away blindly.

Jiraiya had his troops hold their ground when the hail started coming down. The Konoha forces started using barrier jutsus to protect themselves while the remaining Oto forces in the area basically ran for their lives….

 **Oto Village**

As the storms were blowing over the Konoha forces to the south, Orochimaru and the core of his elite forces were retreating to the north. Kabuto reported in to his Master. "Orochimaru-sama; we've finished moving out the research supplies that are movable. Shall we plant explosives to destroy the rest?"

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed, "No, we no longer have the manpower thanks to Tayuya betraying us. It would take too much time. If we move out before this storm completely overtakes us so our elite forces will still be intact. Just leave the rest behind." The Snake pondered for a moment and then nodded to himself. "I know Jiraiya. When he arrives here at this village he'll feel obligated to take care of all the prisoners we're leaving behind like the Fuma Clan. The idiot will be so bogged down in charity work that the Konoha offensive will grind to a halt. I have no doubt that will be the best delaying tactic we could use against him and Sarutobi-sensei. It's time to leave this place Kabuto."

"As you command Orochimaru-sama." said the glasses wearing nin. ' _If all goes according to plan we'll have completely vanished by this time tomorrow and Jiraiya-sama won't be any wiser_.'

….

 **Konoha Command Tent**

"We've had and unbelievable victory this day!" crowed Inuzaka Tsume. "Our casualties have been minimal and the enemy has been scattered. If it wasn't for this damn storm we would have gotten even more of them!"

As boisterous as the troops generally were; transporting Konoha's wounded back and moving supplies was difficult given how much territory the Konoha forces had taken. The supply lines were a bit thin and the rain and hail was no help. Shikaku was looking over their maps to try and predict what the Oto forces would do once the storm broke. "Jiraiya-sama, our scouts saw no forces coming from Oto Village to reinforce the defenses we overran." said the Nara strategist. "You know Orochimaru better than anyone. What is he doing?"

Jiraiya looked over the maps carefully and said, "Unless I miss my guess, the Snake is going to withdraw entirely under the cover of this storm and avoid an open confrontation. He knows he can't win and sacrificed his front lines to buy time….Even if we run flat out towards Oto Village there is no way we can catch him if he's pulled out like I suspect. Let's focus on resupplying and taking care of our wounded for now. We've come too far to risk walking into a trap." ' _Damn you Orochimaru; you always were a slippery snake_ ….'

The Konoha forces settled in for the night. After a long day of fighting they needed to recover. With the storm raging over them there was little else they could do….

….

[ _This catches the timeline up to last chapter_.]

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto was up bright and early and found Blake was already up washing his sheets in a rather frantic manner. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Ummm, Blake-chan; why are you washing my sheets?"

Blake blushed bright red. "No particular reason. I-I thought you might want them washed since I slept there."

Naruto waved his hand in the negative. "You didn't need to worry; all of you girls smell nice to me." Blake blushed a bit more and Naruto said, "I'll fix us some breakfast. What would you like to eat?"

Blake was about to answer when they heard a knock on Naruto's door. "Hold that thought. I'll get it." said the blonde. Naruto opened the door and saw it was Hinata who was blushing prettily. Naruto smiled, "Good morning Hinata-chan!" he said brightly.

Hinata smiled and said, "Good morning Naruto-kun…." Then she gently cupped his cheeks and gave him a passionate kiss. When she pulled away the heiress said, "That was for busting up Neji like he deserved."

Naruto had a bit of steam coming out of his ears and he smiled dreamily.

Blake had steam coming out of her ears for entirely different reasons. ' _Maybe I should put a lip lock on him and continue where we left off last night_.' Blake sauntered up and said, "Well, if it isn't Hinata-chan. What brings you by so early?"

Hinata raised an eyebrow and noticed Blake's faunus ears were proudly on display. "I might ask you the same thing Blake-chan." said Hinata darkly.

Blake smiled evilly. "I spent the night here last night with Naruto-kun." ' _Top that fire starter. He's mine_!'

The Byakugan Princes looked panicked but then frowned angrily. She ground out, "Is that so?" through gnashed teeth. ' _I'll roast your cat ass. He's mine!_ '

Naruto chuckled unaware a war was literally at his doorstep. Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, Blake-chan got marooned here last night in the hailstorm. I had to use the spare bedroom so she could sleep here. It was a heck of a storm, don't you think?"

Hinata's eyes were filled with mirth and she smiled smugly at Blake. "I see; I'll have to crash over here sometime too."

Blake's ears drooped slightly and she thought, ' _Curses! Naruto-kun is just too honest for his own good_.'

Naruto invited Hinata in to have breakfast with them and the two girls sat down at the kitchen table in a silent war while Naruto went through the cabinets to see what he had to fix for breakfast. "So your ears are out." said Hinata.

"Naruto-kun says my ears are _kawaii_." said Blake haughtily.

Hinata narrowed her eyes and was about to retort when Kakashi suddenly appeared in a swirl of leaves in the front room which startled all three genins. He looked serious and said. "Good, you are all here. There was an attack at the Yamanaka Flower Shop late last night. Gear up." All three genins looked panicked. He turned to Hinata and asked, "Are you free? I could use your byakugan to help in this investigation." Hinata nodded looking a concerned.

Naruto asked, "Who attacked them? Are Pyrrha-chan and Ino okay? Were they hurt?"

Kakashi said, "I'll tell you when we get there. Pyrrha and Ino are fine. No one was hurt too much; just frightened."

Within a few minutes Naruto and Blake were in their combat gear. (Hinata was already in hers). "Let's move out." said Kakashi as he led the three genins over the damp rooftops towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop….

….

 **Northern Fire Country, the Valley of the End**

Sakura sat down in the shadows of the valley and lit a campfire to cook herself a meal. She was exhausted and low on chakra from running last night. ' _Poor Ino-chan; trapped in that wretched village. My rescue mission was a failure but at least I managed to make contact. Heeheehee. Ino-chan is smart. She'll come to us on her own_.' Sakura yawned. "I'm still tired from using the sharingan." she thought aloud. "It looks like I'll have to go completely around the Konoha forces north of here and join Sasuke-kun and Karin in Orochimaru-sama's northernmost base." She smiled insanely. ' _Since I have a sharingan now I can teach our future children how to use theirs_.'

Sakura's face suddenly took and angry appearance. ' _I can't believe I lost my sword to Pyrrha. She's trying to take Ino-chan away from me! Worse still, Pyrrha is strong as hell. Taking out that bitch is going to be a problem_.' Her thoughts turned back to her new living arrangements with Sasuke. ' _That Karin girl is a pain in the ass but I can share for the future of the Uchiha Clan. It's a shame the sex is so bad. He's so….small. I was practically bored the last time Sasuke-kun shot his load in me. It's got to get better_.' She brooded for a while in silence.

Then Sakura's face morphed back into a crooked smile. ' _Everything is going to work out. Sasuke-kun will get better with practice and Karin and I will soon be joined by Ino-chan. I wonder what other girls will be in Sasuke-kun's harem. I can't wait to have kids!_ ' The pink haired girl soon was eating in silence wondering how big the new Uchiha Clan would become….

….

 **Konoha, Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha was sitting on alert in the kitchen as she finished writing her report of what had happened last night. Kakashi told her and Ino to write down everything while it was still fresh. Ayano was sitting in the kitchen with the two girls waiting for Kakashi to return. She was still a bit nerve wracked from the night before. They heard Kakashi knock on the door and Pyrrha opened it. She was glad to see her team and Hinata.

Naruto shot in front and said, "Are you alright Pyrrha-chan?"

Pyrrha smiled at Naruto's concern and said, "We're all unhurt but shaken up Naruto-kun."

Kakashi said, "I had Naruto send out some shadow clones to find Choji and Shikamaru. Asuma is already on his way Ino."

Ino sighed in relief and said, "Thank you Kakashi-sensei."

"What exactly happened last night?" asked Hinata. Blake was nodding in agreement wanting to know as well.

Ino shuddered. "Sakura…."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What about Sakura-chan?"

Pyrrha put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "She's joined Sasuke. She's an enemy now. She murdered her parents and tried to get Ino to join her. She wanted Ino to murder her Mother Ayano."

Both Naruto and Hinata were shocked. "The Sakura I knew was nothing like that…." said Hinata in disbelief.

Pyrrha said, "She now has Kakashi-sensei's sharingan. She seemed proud that Kakashi-sensei was dead -or at least she believes he is."

"Sakura is totally insane!" blurted out Ino as she broke into tears. "She claimed that she _murdered_ Kizashi and Mebuki to _prove her love_ for Sasuke! Sakura was _proud_ of it! She used a genjutsu on Mama and tried to the same with me….Even worse she had one of those awful curse marks like Sasuke. She wants me to join her and Sasuke. She says Sasuke needs more wives to rebuild his clan. Sakura was so twisted and evil. It was unbearable."

Naruto sat down looking shocked. "So she joined Orochimaru and Sasuke willingly. Now she's trying to kidnap Ino…." He looked at Kakashi. "Sakura is declared a missing nin now isn't she?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded grimly. "She is considered a C to B-ranked missing nin officially. We have to assess her skills from Pyrrha-chan and Ino's reports."

Naruto turned to Ino. "We will protect you and your Mom Ino; all of us."

Ino hugged Naruto with watery eyes and said. "Thank you knucklehead." Naruto just patted her shoulders awkwardly….

….

 **Rice Country, Konoha Command Tent**

"Our scouts report virtually zero activity out there." said Akimichi Choza as he pointed to a western portion of the map of Rice Country. "The fortress there has been abandoned entirely and we can alleviate some of our supply issues by emptying it out."

"What about the Fortress itself?" asked Yamanaka Inoichi. "Is it any use to us? It's too remote to use as a hospital or a staging point."

"From the looks of it the base was set up to defend against an invasion from Hot Springs Country." said Shikaku. I think it's safe to clean it out and bypass it. Our demolition squads have enough to do without blowing up random empty outposts."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "If the already abandoned the place we'll leave it alone for now. Under the cover of that storm Orochimaru probably is marshaling his forces at Oto Village proper -If he's planning to make a stand that is."

"You sound doubtful Jiraiya-sama." said Choza.

"I'd lay odds we will meet only a token resistance at Oto Village." said the Toad Sage. "We haven't seen any major snake summons since we first crossed the border. I think Orochimaru has already moved on to greener pastures."

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Yamanaka Residence**

Asuma soon arrived along with Choji and Shikamaru right behind him. The news about Sakura shocked both boys and they were very concerned for Ino's safety. The genin group was gathered in the main room of the Yamanaka home. They were playing cards together to pass the time and lighten the mood a bit.

Shikamaru had his fingers steepled in front of him. "What doesn't make sense to me is how Sakura gained the chakra capacity necessary to actually use a sharingan for even a short period of time. Kakashi-sensei was very limited in its use from what Naruto has said and he's a full jonin." Then he looked at his cards and said, "I'll take two."

Naruto nodded and dealt Shikamaru two cards. "She also never had any affinity for any sort of sword before either. Besides, Pyrrha-chan is a superb sword wielder. For Sakura to even be able to push Pyrrha-chan a bit seems unbelievable."

"Sakura also never knew any earth jutsus to my knowledge. She must have learned the headhunter jutsu from Orochimaru." said Hinata. "I fold."

Ino shook her head. "She not only has a different set of abilities but her personality is completely different. I'll take one."

"The smile and look on her face were ones of madness." said Pyrrha. "She has undergone something horrific to have changed that much. Other than her obsession with Uchiha Sasuke nothing else matches from the Sakura I was aquatinted with." The redhead paused. "I'll take one card also Naruto-kun."

"Could it be a side effect of the curse mark?" asked Blake. "Anko nee-chan says the curse mark tries to corrupt your mind. I didn't get to know Sakura all that well but she didn't seem very strong willed to me."

"I fold." said Choji. "Whatever convinced her to kill her own parents could have been the cause. Sakura may have snapped completely when she realized what she'd done."

"House takes two." said Naruto. "I wonder if Sasuke did something to her or if she was just that blindly in love."

"Sakura had a dual personality of sorts." said Ino. "Daddy explained it as a projection of her id. I wonder if she brought that to the surface somehow."

Pyrrha shrugged. "In her own twisted way she still wants to be your _best friend_ Ino-chan. That makes her dangerous to you and Ayano especially. In her own distorted way it was if she was trying to _help_ you."

"That's what has me worried." said Shikamaru.

….

Kakashi and Asuma were sitting in the Yamanaka kitchen while Ayano opened the shop. They were both listening intently to the genins theorizing amongst themselves. Asuma was writing down their observations. While Pyrrha's report had been fairly concise; Ino's was skewed because of her (understandably) heightened emotional state. It seemed that sitting and talking with her friends while playing cards had not only calmed her down but it also had her thinking analytically like a proper kunoichi. Asuma said to Kakashi, "I'll have her write a follow up report tonight after she's had time to reflect on things."

"I'm wondering if we need to set up Ayano with some extra protection regardless." said Kakashi. "Sakura is targeting her."

Asuma shook his head. "We're so shorthanded right now that Ino and Pyrrha would probably be considered sufficient by the Hokage. We do have a war on after all….then again; maybe one of us team senseis could sleep here for the next few nights. One of us could easily overcome Sakura even with your sharingan."

"It probably would put Ayano and Ino at ease to have a jonin crashed on the couch." agreed Kakashi. "Let's talk to Ayano."

….

 **Konoha, Front Gates**

A certain busty blonde sannin arrived at the front gates of Konoha and found the place was quiet as a tomb. "So the rumors of a war we heard in Tanzaku Gai were true." said Tsunade grimly.

Shizune set Tonton on the ground and said, "I haven't seen Konoha this quiet since the Third Shinobi War."

The chunins at the gate were younger and didn't really recognize Tsunade though they'd heard of her of course. One of them stamped her papers and said, "Welcome to Konoha Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san. Hokage-sama is expecting you. I'm sure you know your way to the tower."

Tsunade nodded and her group trudged over to the Hokage Tower. Tsunade was surprised that they weren't given an escort but the general atmosphere in the village was very tense. They saw many patrols moving around and most of the civilians seemed to be staying indoors. "This is a depressing atmosphere." muttered Tsunade. The group soon arrived at the Hokage Tower and was ushered in to the Hokage's Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was looking over the latest reports from Jiraiya and Shikaku. He set them down and looked up at Tsunade and Shizune. He said with a pleased smile, "Welcome home Tsunade-chan, Shizune-chan. You've been missed."

"Why did you cut off my bank accounts?" growled Tsunade.

Hiruzen got a flat look. "Come now Tsunade-chan; don't play dumb. I need you here and you would not obey recall orders. As the Third Hokage I'm reactivating your ninja status. Shizune-chan, you are a full jonin and your talents are needed at the hospital. You will report there at 08:00 tomorrow morning." Shizune nodded. "Tsunade-chan, I'm assuming you still suffer from haemophobia?

Tsunade saw the steel in her old sensei's eyes. ' _I could fight him and leave but_ ….' "Yes, I still have a fear of blood sensei." she said in a shamed tone.

"Understandable." said Hiruzen without preamble. "You're needed at the hospital as well but first we need a thorough psyche check. I know you've been suffering and it's high time we do something about it. The self destructive path you've been on isn't what your family would have wanted for you."

Sensei, I-" started Tsunade.

"Tsunade-chan, Konoha needs you once again." said the elderly Hokage. "I'm _asking_ you because I don't want to _order_ you to. It's time for you to come home Tsunade; it has been for a long time."

Tsunade said mournfully, "I'm _old_ sensei; I _feel_ old. I don't know if I can start again…."

Hiruzen propped his chin in his hand and said, "Say that when you are _my_ age Tsunade-chan. You are a spring chicken compared to me."

Shizune covered her mouth to stifle her giggles but they turn out to be rather infectious and soon the group was all laughing.

The Third Hokage got over his chuckles and said, "I needed that. As I said; welcome home! ….By the way, what's with the pig?"

….

 **Hyuga Compound**

Hinata arrived back from the Yamanaka residence in time for lunch. Team 8 had the day off from patrols and Hinata hoped to spend the day with Naruto-kun. Unfortunately Team 7 had a full schedule that day and Hinata spent most of her morning over at the Yamanaka's place helping to calm Ino and her Mother down. ' _It's hard to believe Sakura changed that much. If nothing else, her being able to face off with Pyrrha Nikos without being utterly destroyed is shocking enough. There is much more to this than meets the eye_.' Hinata greeted her clan mates as she came in and walked over to the main house with a sway in her hips. ' _Mmmm….at least I got a really hot kiss with Naruto-kun_.' She giggled slightly and blushed.

It seemed that Hinata was a hot topic lately with the clan in general but she wasn't particularly concerned. ' _I guess me roasting that fool Mizuki alive raised a few eyebrows. Oh well, he had it coming anyway_.' The heiress was about to look for her little sister Hanabi so they could have lunch together but alas, she was intercepted by a messenger from the Hyūga Elders.

"Hinata-sama!" said Hyūga Tokuma as he trotted up to the Heiress. "I am glad I found you. Your Grandfather the Head Elder has invited you to dine with him for lunch."

Hinata's smile vanished and was replaced with a frown. "Tokuma-san, a ninja of your talents should be out on the front lines instead of running errands for the Elders."

Tokuma nodded and said quietly, "I requested to join the Second Division with Hiashi-sama but was denied by the Elders."

Hinata's eyes seemed to ignite and she said, "You are a Special Jonin. That is an insult to your skill level. Would you like for me to **_talk_** to the Elders Tokuma? It is no trouble."

The Hyūga jonin cringed at Hinata's burning glare and said, "I am glad to serve in any capacity Hinata-sama; please do not bother the Elders with something so trivial." ' _Please don't barbeque them my Lady!_ '

"Very well Tokuma-san." said Hinata in a dark tone. "Tell the Head Elder I shall be there soon."

Tokuma looked pale. "Actually, Elder-sama asked me to escort you to the main dining hall."

The Heiress raised an eyebrow and smiled evilly. "Tell the old fool I had some feminine needs to attend to and did not _need_ to be escorted. I'll get there when I get there."

The jonin blushed. "O-of course my Lady!" squeaked Tokuma in embarrassment. He quickly bowed and took off like a shot….

….

 **Konoha Mission Hall**

Kakashi was talking to his team. "The spy we caught yesterday turned out to be from Hidden Cloud. The Raikage is on high alert because he believes Konoha is using Rice Country as a possible staging ground for an invasion."

"That's ridiculous!" said Blake. "We're trying to get rid of a traitor for good. It has nothing to do with Kumo."

Kakashi nodded. "I know that and you know that but the Raikage can't afford to be lax about the situation. Once Konoha withdraws from Rice Country things will settle down."

"What will happen to the spy Kakashi-sensei?" asked Pyrrha.

"His fate hasn't been determined." said Kakashi.

"In other words he'll vanish once we've gotten all the information out of him we can." said Naruto in a dark tone. "He officially doesn't exist according to Kumo after all."

Kakashi nodded and said, "Things do happen in our line of work that are less than savory."

"Any news on Sakura?" asked Pyrrha.

"She escaped us." said Kakashi. "We don't have the hunter nins necessary to go after her and even if we did she's not a big enough threat to warrant a full scale manhunt. For now she's out of our reach."

Team 7 all nodded glumly and set out for their first patrol of the day….

….

 **Hyūga Compound**

Hinata waited an extra thirty minutes to go to lunch just to irritate her Grandfather. She came into the dining hall in her combat gear with a gentle sway in her hips. All and all she looked quite stunning much like her mentor Kurenai always did. Her Grandfather raised his eyebrows at her choice of attire (he expected a conservative kimono), but the young Hyūga man at the table with him looked utterly gob smacked. He was in a formal clan kimono.

"Well, well." said Hinata sardonically. "I was wondering why you summoned me Elder. Is this some sort of omiai?** I'd certainly hope not."

Hinata's Grandfather started coughing before he cleared his throat. "Hinata; this is Hyūga Hotaka, a main house member who has lived at the Fire Capital all his life. He is fifteen and stands to inherit most of the clan's trade business when his Father retires." The heiress looked rather unimpressed with the young man. The Elder turned to Hotaka. "Hotaka-kun; this is Hyūga Hinata-sama. She is thirteen and as my granddaughter is the undisputed Heiress of the Hyūga Clan." Hotaka looked love struck at the dangerous looking kunoichi in front of him.

Hotaka stood up and bowed. "I am honored to meet you My Lady. The rumors of your beauty simply don't do you justice."

The Heiress thought to herself, ' _I didn't know there even_ _ **were**_ _rumors about my looks. I wonder what else he's heard_.' "I thank you Hotaka-san; I take it you are descended of Elder Minako?"

Hotaka brightened, "Yes, she is my Grandmother. How did you know Hinata-sama?"

"You seem to have inherited her facial features." said Hinata. ' _The poor guy acts like an accountant rather than a ninja. It seems the Elder Council is trying to maneuver me through some matchmaking. Too bad for them I've already chosen Naruto-kun_.' Hinata sat down and ate with her Grandfather and Hotaka. She was quite bored and had no interest in Hotaka but she wasn't rude to him. ' _It's not like it's his fault this meeting took place. I'm going to rain_ _ **hell**_ _upon the old man once this farce is over though_ ….'

….

 **Rice Country, Konoha Command Tent**

Jiraiya was going over the reports. His scouts had been very busy throughout the morning and reports were still coming in. '…. _And Sarutobi-sensei wonders why I don't want the Hokage position. All this infernal paperwork is harder to deal with than fighting in the war. Give me an open battle any day over this drudgery. Now that I think about it; giving the job to Orochimaru would be a punishment worse than death_.' He saw Nara Shikaku come into the tent after lunch. "What's the good word Nara? Any news from our scouts?"

Shikaku shook his head. "The enemy has withdrawn. Every place we've searched is abandoned. What few enemy regulars we've run into are like scared rabbits and have surrendered unconditionally. Even the underground tunnel complexes have been abandoned. It seems your hunch about Orochimaru withdrawing was correct. We are meeting zero resistance."

"It's still a two day march to Oto Village but I expect more of the same." said Jiraiya. "Hokage-sama is going to be disappointed that we didn't get Orochimaru but leveling his power base will have to suffice. He has to have left some kind of trap behind so remain diligent."

….

 **Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

Kabuto looked out at the shore from one of the many hidden passages in the labyrinth of Northern Headquarters. The conditions were Spartan to say the least but Orochimaru-sama assured them that it was perfectly safe. ' _What a mess. We were planning to invade Konoha and instead they ended up invading_ _ **us**_ _on our home turf. Eighty percent of our forces were either wiped out or fled. If Suna had done their part then we wouldn't have had this disaster_.' The bespectacled nin sighed. ' _I was hoping to lay an explosive trap in Oto Village to blow up a portion of Jiraiya-sama's forces but Orochimaru-sama was right. There simply wasn't time_.'

Orochimaru's right hand man thought morosely, "Years of research in the labs was lost and Kimimaro still needs further treatment. Worse still, so little is known about the Kaguya Clan that treating him is next to impossible."

The Snake Sannin came up behind his protégé and asked, "Thinking aloud Kabuto-kun? We lost this war but we will learn from this setback. Failure is often a greater teacher than success."

"It is difficult not to be disheartened Orochimaru-sama." admitted Kabuto.

"Are you still wanting Haruno Sakura to be you apprentice as a medic Kabuto-kun?" asked the snake.

"She has the chakra control to be a superb medic my Lord." said Kabuto. "That being said her entire personality radically changed after she received the curse mark. I cannot understand that phenomena. All curse mark users seem to have retained their basic personalities but Sakura….She is twisted in ways that don't make sense. I doubt she would _want_ to learn to heal anyone and that kind of dedication is necessary to be a good medic."

"It is a bit of a mystery." agreed Orochimaru. "As you teach her consider her a case study as well. It's a shame we don't have an experienced Yamanaka to look inside of her head." Looking out at the seashore Orochimaru said, "Enough brooding Kabuto-kun. There is much to do."

The Master and apprentice went back inside and sealed the hidden door behind them….

….

 ** _OMAKE:_**

The Head Hyūga Elder came into the meeting chambers to address his fellow Elders about the results of the omiai between Hinata and Hotaka. He overheard Elder Minako talking to the others. "My grandson Hotaka seems quite taken with Hinata-sama!" Minako said happily. "He said she was beautiful and very kind to him. Hotaka wants to push forward with this relationship but he said that Hinata-sama seemed shy and didn't want to rush things. I for one am quite pleased with the results."

The Head Elder sighed and shook his head. ' _If only they knew_ ….'

Elder Hiraku chuckled. "So it seems love has tamed the savage beast." He said with a slight sneer in his voice.

"I'm not so sure this is the best idea…." said Elder Majo with a tiny bit of fear in her voice.

"Nonsense!" crowed Elder Hiraku. "Obviously she's just a teenage girl underneath the façade of being an Angry Fire Goddess."

Hinata's Grandfather stepped into the room and cleared his throat. He said authoritatively, "I'm afraid the omiai was….less than successful."

All the other Elders turned to him and stared. Their byakugan eyes then widened to comical proportions and their jaws hit the floor….

 _Flashback…._

 _Hotaka left the omiai feeling lighter than air and rushed to tell his beloved Grandmother Minako what a truly lovely girl Hinata-sama is. That left Hinata and her Grandfather alone…._

 _"Well Hinata, what do you think of young Hotaka-kun?" asked the Elder._

 _"He seems pleasant enough." said Hinata in a neutral tone. Then she smiled softly and said, "I thank you for the lovely meal Elder-sama." She kissed her hand and blew her Grandfather a kiss which amused him greatly….Until the kiss turned out to be superheated fire chakra the neatly burned his long mane of hair off leaving his head bald and shiny as a cue ball…._

 _Hinata said in a voice that would make the shinigami wet himself in fear; "_ _ **DON'T DO THAT AGAIN**_ _."_

 _Flashback end_ ….

"It seems that swaying my lovely granddaughter through affection won't be so easy after all." stated the Hyūga Head Elder. That's when he noticed all the other Elders were shielding their long hair subconsciously with their hands. They all looked terrified. "What are you all cowering for?!" he thundered. " _I'm_ the one that's totally bald!"

Majo weakly pointed passed him into the entryway to the room where Hinata was standing with glowing eyes and demonic smile on her beautiful face. "It looks like you Elders haven't learned your lesson. _I do hope you like wigs_ …."

The cries of baldness reached throughout the compound….

 ** _OMAKE END…._**

….

POSTSCRIPT:

**Omiai: a first meeting for potential couples to pursue a relationship leading towards marriage.

Well, a lot happened this chapter. Orochimuru decided to cut his losses and fully retreated into the hills. Jiraiya seems to be holding most of the cards at this point in Rice Country. It also seems that Sakura's personality change is a mystery to both sides. On the home front, Tsunade has returned! And the Yamanakas are justifiably concerned about Sakura's attack. The genin teams are learning just how bad the situation is. Perhaps worst of all, the Hyūga Elders are seeking to arrange a marriage for their heiress and she is _not_ happy. It looks like wigs are going to become fashionable in the Hyūga Clan….What will come of that? See you next time. Blue out. 9/28/16


	16. Chapter 16

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Well, the votes are in and it seems that last chapter's omake is now canon. It was originally written that way but I made it an omake thinking it was too comedic. So, ~ _Viva Bald Elders!_ ~ Here is chapter 16. Enjoy!

Quote: " _What's a girl got to do to get rescued around here?!" -Nora Valkyrie ranting to a helpless Beowolf, RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 _Orochimaru's right hand man thought morosely, "Years of research in the labs was lost and Kimimaro still needs further treatment. Worse still, so little is known about the Kaguya Clan that treating him is next to impossible."_

 _The Snake Sannin came up behind his protégé and asked, "Thinking aloud Kabuto-kun? We lost this war but we will learn from this setback. Failure is often a greater teacher than success."_

 _"It is difficult not to be disheartened Orochimaru-sama." admitted Kabuto._

 _"Are you still wanting Haruno Sakura to be you apprentice as a medic Kabuto-kun?" asked the snake._

 _"She has the chakra control to be a superb medic my Lord." said Kabuto. "That being said her entire personality radically changed after she received the curse mark. I cannot understand that phenomena. All curse mark users seem to have retained their basic personalities but Sakura….She is twisted in ways that don't make sense. I doubt she would want to learn to heal anyone and that kind of dedication is necessary to be a good medic."_

 _"It is a bit of a mystery." agreed Orochimaru. "As you teach her consider her a case study as well. It's a shame we don't have an experienced Yamanaka to look inside of her head." Looking out at the seashore Orochimaru said, "Enough brooding Kabuto-kun. There is much to do."_

 _The Master and apprentice went back inside and sealed the hidden door behind them…._

 _…._

Chapter 16

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto was practicing his fuinjutstu on a low table in his living room with Pyrrha after their two patrols for the day. It had been a long day for Team 7. The blonde seemed very preoccupied to Pyrrha. "What's wrong Naruto-kun?" asked the radiant redhead. "You seem really distracted. Is it Sakura?"

The orange loving ninja shook his head as he set down his calligraphy brush. "Honestly, I have something else on my mind entirely. In my mind the Sakura and Sasuke I knew are dead. The people that replaced them are enemies of my friends and my enemies as a result. They've killed people that should have been closest to them. I can't forgive them after this."

Pyrrha's green eyes were full of concern. "Well, if it's not that then what is bothering you so much Naruto-kun?"

Naruto sighed. "It's….girls. Could I ask your advice Pyrrha-chan? I don't feel like I can talk to Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sensei isn't here."

Pyrrha smiled softly and said, "Well, tell me what's wrong and I'll see how I can help."

The blonde looked pensive and said, "I wasn't sure before now but I'm almost positive both Hinata-chan and Blake-chan both like me. I….I really like both of them back and I don't know what to do."

Pyrrha said sadly, "I once liked someone and he liked someone else. When he asked for my advice on what to do; I told him he should be honest and tell the girl he liked how he felt…."

"So what happened?" asked Naruto curiously.

The redhead replied, "I didn't follow my own advice. When I died he still didn't truly know how much I cared about him. I regret that. You should talk to both of them or you'll always wonder what might have happened." Pyrrha had glassy eyes.

Naruto felt guilty. "I'm really sorry Pyrrha-chan; I didn't mean to upset you."

Pyrrha shook her head and said, "I won't let it happen again…." She reached over and planted a gentle, loving kiss on Naruto's lips. "I like you Uzumaki Naruto. You are very dear to me. I think I just made your problem worse but I'm not going to be left out this time." She smiled at Naruto's surprised but happy look.

Naruto smiled shyly and said, "I like you too Pyrrha-chan. I didn't know you felt that way."

She smiled with amusement in her eyes. "You are a bit dense to women Naruto-kun. What about Blake-chan and Hinata-chan?"

Naruto looked at his hands in his lap. "I need to tell them how I feel about all three of you. I feel a bit better about things now. Thanks for talking with me Pyrrha-chan!"

Pyrrha nodded. "Any time Naruto-kun." ' _This time will be different. I won't just sit back and watch the one I care about drift away from me_.'

Naruto's thoughts were much darker. ' _I need to be honest and tell all three of them about the Kyubi_ ….'

….

 **Hyūga Compound, Hinata's Room**

Hinata was getting ready for bed. As she adjusted her sleeping yukata; the young kunoichi reflected upon her day. ' _Well, if nothing else I scored points against those irritating Elders today. Father is going to be_ _ **irate**_ _when he hears about this omiai business_.' The Hyūga Heiress had proven two things to the Elder Council. 1) If they continued their meddling the Council could expect **_severe_** consequences from now on. 2) Hinata may be a superb kunoichi but she simply wasn't cut out to be a hairdresser. ' _I'll keep a close eye on the toupee troupe in case they try anything stupid with Hanabi-chan_.' thought Hinata protectively.

The pearl eyed beauty heard a knock at her door and saw her little sister with her byakugan. Hinata opened the door and saw Hanabi was in her pajamas and looked a bit concerned. "Hanabi-chan, I thought you already went to bed. Is everything okay?"

Hanabi rubbed a sleepy eye and said, "Nee-chan; I got up to get a drink of water and saw the Head Elder was walking around in a turban. Then I saw the other Elders had them too. Is something going on?"

Hinata smiled and said, "Perhaps our Honored Elders are trying to make a fashion statement."

The younger sibling narrowed her eyes with a cute frown and said, "I wouldn't be caught dead dressed like that. They were using old towels from the looks of it."

The Heiress was barely able to stifle a snort at her little sister's apt description and the mental imagery going through her mind. ' _Perhaps some pictures are in order. Blackmail material on top of everything else can't hurt. I may as well stack the deck that much more in my favor_.' "Say Hanabi-chan; let's have a little fun together tonight." whispered Hinata. "What do you say?"

Hanabi saw pure mischief in her big sister's eyes and immediately got enthused. "What are we going to do together nee-chan?"

"We're going to take pictures of the Elders in their old towel turbans and show them to Father when he gets back." said Hinata conspiratorially.

The younger sister clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle her giggles. Once she calmed down Hanabi said, "Let me get my camera."

As Hinata went back to fetch her own camera she thought with a giggle, ' _Naruto-kun is rubbing off on me_.'

….

 **Anko & Blake's Apartment**

Blake was lying awake in bed thinking about Naruto. She'd just finished a chapter of Icha Icha and was a bit restless. (Sigh) ' _What am I going to do with you Naruto-kun? I know Hinata likes him a lot too and it really bugs me. Maybe I should have kissed him in front of her just to mark my territory_.' She rolled over onto her stomach and smiled. ' _Naruto-kun really likes my ears on the other hand_.' She giggled. ' _That's one area where Hinata can't compete with me. Shame there isn't any telephone service in this place. I'd call Naruto-kun otherwise_. _When Anko nee-chan get's back I'll ask her for some advice_.'

The feline faunus girl's thoughts drifted to other events of the day. ' _I don't know what to think of the situation with Sakura. If she survived a run in with Pyrrha-chan and has one of those damned curse seals then I can't afford to underestimate her. When I discovered her parent's deaths she was the furthest from my mind as a possible suspect_.' Blake yawned. "Enough about that, I need some sleep."

Blake soon drifted off thinking about a certain whiskered blonde….

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha got home a little later than planned. She saw Asuma was lying on the couch and reading. The cigarette smoking jonin said, "Well good evening Nikos-san. Running late?"

The redhead shrugged. "Naruto-kun and I were working on a new fuinjutsu formula and lost track of time. Are Ayano-san and Ino-chan already asleep?"

"Ayano went on to bed but Ino is still up last I checked." replied Asuma. "You might want to talk with her before you head to bed."

Pyrrha nodded, "Thanks for staying over Asuma-sensei. I know it's a huge load off Ayano's mind."

Asuma grinned and said, "It's not a big problem. Since you defeated Sakura it's really doubtful she'll be back anytime soon. Still, Ino's a bit paranoid. Kakashi and I are going to switch out every other day for a few days so you can rest easy."

The Gladiator nodded in approval and said, "I'll check on Ino-chan before I go to bed then." She then went upstairs and peered into Ayano's room and saw she was sleeping peacefully.

….

Ino heard a soft knock on her door and panicked. Then she heard Pyrrha's voice say softly, "Ino-chan, are you awake still?"

The blonde girl sighed in relief and said, "Come on in Pyrrha-chan; I'm awake."

Pyrrha quietly opened the door and said, "Sorry I am late. I was working on fuinjutsu with Naruto-kun. I talked to Asuma-sensei for a few minutes. I thought I'd check on you before I go to bed."

"Well, I'm glad everything is okay." said Ino. "Asuma-sensei being here is a huge relief."

"Your sensei said that both he and Kakashi-sensei are going to switch out over the next few nights." said the red haired beauty. "I think it's safe for you to relax."

The blonde kunoichi nodded. "It's hard not to be unsettled I guess. I still can't believe how much Sakura has changed….Speaking of changes, is it just me or has Naruto matured a lot? I saw him without his jacket and he's all muscle now. It's hard to believe the blonde knucklehead has become such a strong ninja. It was really cool of him to say how he'd keep me and Mama safe. It really made me happy."

Pyrrha nodded slowly in agreement and thought to herself, ' _Since when has Ino-chan had any interest in Naruto-kun?_ '

….

 **Rice Country, Konoha Camp**

Jiraiya unleashed his Swamp of the Underworld jutsu. He said, "I wasn't expecting a 4 AM night offensive."

 _Flashback…._

 _Jiraiya was getting ready to turn in for the night in the Command Tent when he heard an explosion in the distance. "There's no rest for the wicked." grumped the Toad Sage. He ran towards the western edge of the camp to see what going on. He saw Morino Ibiki was already rallying the troops. "Give me a report Morino!" said Jiraiya._

 _Ibiki replied, "Jiraiya-sama; the enemy has mounted an attack from both the east and the west ends of the camp. They set off our barrier alerts and we opened up on them before they could get across our lines. Shikaku is in charge in the east and I'm the senior officer here in the west. What are your orders sir?"_

 _Jiraiya looked out at the lines and said, "When in doubt, attack!"_

 _The Konoha forces at the west end of the camp reversed tactics from defensive to offensive and a large chunk the Oto forces were soon bogged down in Jiraiya's Swamp of the Underworld…._

 _Flashback end_ ….

At the east end under Shikaku's command, Tayuya was in a Konoha uniform so she wouldn't be mistaken for and enemy by her new allies. She was playing her flute in a fast and high pitched melody that was a wide area genjutsu. Nara Shikaku was impressed. The Oto forces were turning on each other from Tayuya's genjustsu and that gave the head of the Nara Clan time to reorganize and start a counterattack. It didn't take long for the shadow wielder to link up with his old teammates Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi and the three bulldozed a path for the Konoha forces to exploit.

The Oto offensive lasted about three hours and the fighting in the dark was particularly savage. By morning light the Konoha forces stood victorious but had taken a real beating in the darkness. On the other hand, their suicidally determined Oto opponents had fought to the last man. As the morning scouts reported in from their reconnaissance patrols it was the same everywhere: All the Oto troops in the area were dead.

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

Early the next morning Team 7 went out to the weapons shop that Tenten's family ran. They were there to pick up Pyrrha's new Miló and Akoúo̱. The Miló was a Xiphos sword that could transform into a javelin. It was crafted out of red and gold chakra metal. Akoúo̱ was a disc shaped shield likewise made of chakra metal. It was bronze with a brown backing that matched Pyrrha's armor. Likewise, Kakashi's White Light Chakra was fully restored to its original glory….

Naruto said brightly, "So Kakashi-sensei, Blake-chan's Gambol Shroud turns into a kusarigama and a katana; Pyrrha-chan's Miló changes from a Xiphos sword into a javelin; what does the White Light Chakra Saber do?"

Kakashi sweat dropped, "Well, it's a tanto that gives off white light when a channel chakra through it….Ummm….it's really sharp too…." Seeing Naruto looked completely let down, Kakashi said, "It's a family heirloom."

"Oh, I see!" said Naruto more enthused. "I just figured it turned into something else with a long name like that. It's cool anyway."

The girls were both snickering at Kakashi's expense as the group went to Training Ground 52 to get their morning practice in….

….

 **Hokage Tower**

Sarutobi Hiruzen was looking over the reports on the spy Teams 7 and 9 captured from Kumo. Although he wasn't really surprised; the seasoned Hokage was a bit frustrated. ' _For every spy we find there are two or three others in Fire Country that are supporting him. Damn it. According to the reports from Torture and Interrogation the man was a rookie. It's little wonder the idiot got caught. What game are you playing A? As the Raikage you_ _ **knew**_ _he was bound to get caught with such a sloppy infiltration job_.' Sarutobi's secretary called him on his desk intercom. "What is it Akemi? Did more reports come in from Jiraiya?"

"No sir, I have copies of the special report from Kakashi pending your approval to distribute them to our forces." said Akemi.

The elderly Hokage was soon looking at the rough images. ' _Beowolves, Nevermores, Griffons and other associated creatures_ ….' He read the brief descriptions and found that the creatures seemed to feed on negative energy. "I hope none of these beasts show up in Rice Country. They would have a feast up there…."

 **Rain Country, Ame Village**

Uzumaki Nagato, otherwise known as Pein sent his Deva Path along with his ' _Angel_ ' Konan at the east edge of Ame where a massive battle was taking place. It was there he saw an enormous raven like creature that was ripping up and eating Zetsu like a fresh kill. The half black/half white creature that served as a spy to the Akatsuki ended his existence as a massive " ** _BBEEELLCHH!_** " for the avian creature. Pein and Konan watched with wide eyes as the thing absorbed centuries of negative energy from the black half of Zetsu and grew to a mammoth size as a result. It had been big before but now it was _colossal_. The now massive creature attacked Tobi and Hidan as well. Tobi phased through the attack but was somehow wounded in the process. Hidan on the other hand wasn't so lucky….

The crazed priest was impaled on the creature's talon and had a one way ticket heading towards its open maw. Hidan raged, "YOU MOTHERFUCKING BIRD! I'LL SEND YOU TO JASHIN IN LITTLE TINY PIECES! _DAMN YOU_ ; I'LL-"

" ** _BBEEELLCHH!_** " said the creature seconds later as Hidan joined Zetsu as vittles for the beast. It comically spit out Hidan's scythe before started growing _even more_ from all the negative energy coming from Hidan.

The orange haired Deva Path of Pein roared, " _Shinra Tensei!_ " and the massive bird like creature was utterly crushed leaving behind a crater with a small raven body at its epicenter….The giant _Nevermore_ dissolved before their eyes. It was dead and not a trace of Zetsu or Hidan was left.

Konan landed by the wounded Tobi who was coughing up blood. He rasped out, "It was just a ( _cough_ ) big bird of prey ( _cough_ ) until it latched on to Zetsu's black arm and started feeding like mad. We ( _cough_ ) tried to destroy it but it had already grown too big to take out easily. ( _Cough, cough_ ) I think it must feed on the spirit. I can't feel the parts of my body where its talons passed though me…." Tobi passed out from his injuries.

"Is he still alive?" asked Pein.

Konan checked Tobi's vitals and said "Barely…."

Pein nodded, "Let's take him back to base. This attack was completely unexpected." The Deva Path walked over to the remnants of the raven that was once the core of the Nevermore. He picked it up and said, "….It just looks like the body of an ordinary bird…."

….The Akatsuki had no idea the Gedō Mazō statue's very existence could draw the other-dimensional Creatures of Grimm to it with its mass of negative energy. Ame Village had the potential to become the very epicenter of **_hell_** ….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Training Ground 52**

After a particularly brutal morning workout (to _break in_ their new weapons); Team 7 was relaxing under a tree a regaining their breath. "Kakashi-sensei sure has been on a rampage this morning." said Naruto from his spot laying on the ground.

The girls were leaning against the tree with their feet propped comically on Naruto's legs. "I think we poked a little too much fun at Kakashi-sensei's little tanto Naruto-kun." said Blake with a smile as she got out her Icha Icha book.

Pyrrha shrugged. "Well, we really did put our new weapons to the test so it was all good." She wiped the sweat off of her brow. "It feels good to get the blood pumping and the adrenalin flowing anyway." She looked over to her left. "It seems that Kurenai-sensei and Team 8 are here. They must have finished their morning patrol."

Kurenai waved and then sweat dropped seeing Kakashi and Blake both eagerly reading Icha Icha Paradise in perfect synch with each other. Kakashi gave a double eye smile and said, "Good afternoon Kurenai; all finished with the dawn patrol?"

Team 8's sensei nodded. "We brought lunch so our teams can eat together. Hinata-chan left a note on Naruto's door this morning."

"So _that's_ why you weren't so eager to rush back to the village for lunch." said Pyrrha. "Well, eating Hinata-chan's cooking _is_ a treat."

Naruto nodded. "Hinata-chan left a note on my door that we could all eat together so I thought I'd surprise everybody."

Hinata happily unsealed a large picnic basket much to everyone's delight. The main dish was Tataki, a sashimi made with Skipjack Tuna….in other words, a certain feline faunus was thrilled….

….

Kakashi was informing the group on his observations. "The biggest drawback of an implanted sharingan is the massive drain of chakra. I find it hard to believe Sakura could use it very long at all. With her reserves she would be bordering on chakra exhaustion within a minute or two. From what Pyrrha and Ino described she must have a good grasp on the genjutsu aspects of it but her other abilities aren't up to par. Her implanted eye may be able to predict the moves of an opponent but her body cannot keep up with it. That's a factor in her defeat in a sword duel with Pyrrha-chan. I have to wonder where she learned to fight with a jian though. As far as I know she never held a sword in her life."

"Have we heard any news about the war in Rice Country?" asked Kiba. "I haven't heard anything from Kaa-san or nee-chan."

Kurenai said, "Things are progressing at a rapid pace so I doubt we will hear much news. The Hokage has assured us that things are going well. The last I heard the Oto lines were breeched."

Kakashi nodded and said. "Kurenai and I both fought in the Third Shinobi War. Believe me Kiba; things fly by during an offensive so there simply isn't enough time to write your loved ones. I'm sure they are thinking about you though. I've fought with Jiraiya-sama on the field and he's a hell of a field commander. He'll get them through."

"So Jiraiya-sensei has a lot of experience in wartime?" asked Naruto.

The red eyed jonin nodded. "In spite of the fact I'm not too fond of his writings; (She glared briefly at Kakashi and Blake who both promptly ignored her in favor of their literature) Jiraiya-sama was in both the Second and Third Shinobi Wars and is a leader we can have confidence in. Besides; if anyone aside of Hokage-sama can defeat Orochimaru in open combat it is Jiraiya-sama. They are both Sannin after all."

"Speaking of Sannin, my clansmen have been saying Tsunade-sama has returned." said Shino. "Do you know if there is any truth to this sensei?"

"Her apprentice Shizune is working at the hospital." said Kakashi with a shrug. "I suppose anything is possible."

Hinata set down her drink. "I'm sure Tenten from Team 9 will find out for sure. Tsunade-sama is her idol after all."

Kiba grinned. "Speaking of Team 9, I heard from Hinata-chan that you really busted that arrogant prick Neji's ass Naruto."

Naruto frowned. "He said some hateful things that were completely out of line; even Gai-sensei agreed. Besides, I still owe Neji a thorough beating for what he did to Hinata-chan."

The Hyūga Heiress smiled happily knowing Naruto always kept his promises. She said, "I talked to Gai-sensei and Tenten. You've already done enough for me Naruto-kun."

"I want to flatten him in an officiated match." said Naruto. "All I did was knock him down."

"He did have to visit the hospital Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha. "It was pretty brutal for just knocking him down."

Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder. "It had been a long day and tempers were running hot. Naruto's getting better about controlling his anger."

Blake nodded. "Naruto-kun didn't use any chakra techniques so he actually was holding back Kiba. Neji did deserve it though. I have no idea what Neji's problem is but I was ready to hit him myself."

"I heard you learned to summon from Hinata-chan, Naruto." said Shino.

Naruto brightened up. "Yep! I am a holder of the Toad contract."

"Can you demonstrate?" asked the bug user.

The orange loving ninja shook his head and said, "Sorry Shino; not right now. Jiraiya-sensei needs the toads' help for the war. Unless it's a serious combat situation I shouldn't summon any of them right now."

Shino nodded in understanding. "You seem to handle your summons with uncharacteristic responsibility Naruto."

Naruto shrugged. "We all have to grow up sometime."

"Not me!" retorted Kiba. "I'll never grow up!" Akamaru barked enthusiastically in agreement.

Kurenai shook her head and smiled at Kiba's antics….

….

 **Rice Country, Konoha Camp**

Jiraiya saw that his forces were ready to move again. They spent the morning waiting for the scouts and engineers to confirm a path had been cleared. "There were a few traps left behind by last night's attackers but they expended almost all of their weapons in the assault last night." said Jiraiya. He turned to the young red haired kunoichi beside him and said, "Those weren't standard tactics from what you've said Tayuya. What do you think is going on?"

Tayuya focused her brown eyes towards the path leading to Oto. "I think those were the tactics of some of the ex-Taki jonins Oto had. I'd lay odds Orochimaru left them to their own devices and they decided to attack instead of lay in wait to ambush us. They always were an impatient lot and never liked guarding."

The white haired Toad Sage had come to much the same conclusions himself but wanted Tayuya's input. ' _She's proven to be a very valuable asset to Konoha. I'm going to recommend to Sarutobi-sensei to give her a full commission as a ninja of Konoha_.'

Akimichi Choza came up and saluted. "Jiraiya-sama; both divisions are ready to move out. Hyūga Hiashi just arrived from the rear. Do you want him heading up a scouting division again?"

"Have him come up and join the Command Unit." said Jiraiya. "I want to talk with him. Give the order; we are moving out."

….

The Konoha Army was moving at a brisk march. The area ahead of them was clear of enemies so they were making good time. Hiashi reported in to see Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sama, I'm ready to return to duty." said Hiashi as he joined the command troops.

Jiraiya grinned. "It's good to see you well again Hiashi. That was one hell of a battle you fought alone to protect your people." The sage motioned to the red haired girl beside him. "Hyūga Hiashi; this is the former Oto kunoichi Tayuya that hauled you out of there afterwards." He turned to Tayuya and said, "Tayuya; this is Hyūga Hiashi-sama, the head of the exalted Hyūga Clan of Konoha. I'm sure you two have a bit to talk about."

Hiashi came over and said politely, "It seems I owe you my life young lady. The Hyūgas always repay their debts. I thank you."

Tayuya started chuckling. "You don't have to be so formal man. I'm no noble or anything. For what it's worth you're welcome though. I didn't even know you had a title until now."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow at the girl's rather blunt (but refreshingly honest) attitude. "So what clan do you hail from Tayuya?"

The redhead paused and said. "My Clan's damn near extinct….I might tell you about it someday."

' _What a mysterious girl_.' thought Hiashi. "Well, regardless of where you hail from; the Hyūga Clan will help support you should you decide to settle in Konoha."

"What's Konoha like?" asked Tayuya with curiosity in her voice.

"It is surrounded by forests and is warm most of the year." said Hiashi. "Fire Country is not as wet and muddy as Rice Country. I think it is a good place to live."

Tayuya said absentmindedly, "It sounds nice…."

"How old are you Tayuya?" asked Hiashi.

Tayuya's eyes grew huge. " _I'm_ _ **way too young**_ _for you old man!_ "

Hiashi nearly face-faulted. "I didn't mean that!" He face palmed and then regained his composure. "I have a daughter that's in her early teens. I thought you might get along with her."

The redhead let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry man, I misread you. A kunoichi has to watch her back in Oto. I'm fourteen."

The clan head nodded. "My daughter Hinata is thirteen. She is a genin kunoichi. Perhaps you'd enjoy her company."

"Stranger things have happened." said Tayuya with a shrug.

….

A few steps back Jiraiya was half listening to the two talking. ' _Note to self: Introduce Tayuya to Hinata as her_ _ **future stepmother**_ _while Hiashi is present. Then dive for cover as the fireworks go off….Hmmm, maybe Naruto is rubbing off on me_.' thought Jiraiya with a snort.

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

….Somewhere in Konoha; Naruto sneezed while he was out on patrol with Team 7. "I wonder if someone is talking about me." he wondered aloud. The blonde suddenly had an immense feeling of pride well up within him. ' _I haven't felt this way since I converted Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon into pranksters. I wonder if someone else has taken up the sacred ways of the prankster_.'

 **Konoha Photo Studio**

….Hinata sneezed as she picked up the developed pictures of the Elders in their impromptu headwear. " _Pffft!_ I've seen rodeo clowns with more dignity than these hairless wonders!" said Hinata as she cackled evilly. Kurenai, Kiba and Shino all shivered slightly at the dark aura coming off of their teammate. Akamaru whimpered and hid in Kiba's jacket….

 **Hyūga Compound**

….Meanwhile, the Hyūga Elders collectively sneezed as they looked through a wig catalog that they could get express delivery from the Fire Capital. "Look here! There is a half off sale if you order waist length fuchsia and chartreuse colored wigs in bulk!" said Elder Hiraku excitedly at the bargain he found.

" _This is about saving_ _ **face**_ _, not saving_ _ **money**_ _you idiot!_ " roared Elder Majo.

The murderous killing intent coming from his fellow Elders surrounding him promptly made Hiraku shut up….

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

That evening Naruto invited Hinata, Blake and Pyrrha over to hang out. He was very nervous. In spite of the fact he wanted to confess how he felt to all the girls (even though Pyrrha already knew); the matter of Kyubi being sealed within him was far more important. The blonde was worried that they would hate him but at the same time he didn't believe any of them would do that. He sent out a clone to pick up the ingredients for a sukiyaki hot pot. Naruto figured he could cook that okay and did want to entertain his guests….

Blake arrived just before six in the evening and greeted him with a warm kiss. She had a light dusting on her cheeks and said, "Good evening Naruto-kun. Thank you for inviting me over." She took off her bow and Naruto smiled at her adorable ears.

"Thank you for coming over Blake-chan." said Naruto.

Hinata arrived a few minutes later and also rewarded Naruto with a kiss. "Mmmm….smells like that sukiyaki recipe I gave you."

Naruto nodded and blushed a bit at Hinata's warm smile. He said, "Welcome Hinata-chan."

Both Hinata and Blake looked at each other to mark their territory….

Pyrrha arrived soon and said, "Hello everybody!" She then turned to Naruto and gave him a passionate kiss. "And hello to you especially Naruto-kun!"

Hinata had wide eyes and Blake's jaw hit the floor. They thought as one, ' _Since when has Pyrrha been involved?!_ '

Naruto said, "Good evening Pyrrha-chan, I'm glad you could make it."

Naruto soon served dinner to the three girls and somehow the subject drifted to the Creatures of Grimm. "It really depends on how many of them actually made it through." said Hinata analytically. "We don't know how big of a threat they are currently but they should be killed on sight. The _potential_ threat they represent is great."

"It sounds strange coming from you." said Blake.

Hinata frowned, "I no longer serve Salem. I'm a Konoha kunoichi."

"There's no need to argue amongst ourselves." said Pyrrha. "It will get nothing accomplished. Isn't that right Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded. "I wonder if there are others out there from remnant like you girls and Kakashi-sensei."

"There is no telling Naruto-kun." said Hinata. "Other than our little circle no one knows about it. I explained the situation to Kurenai-sensei and then Kiba-kun and Shino-kun but they are sworn to secrecy. I couldn't hide such a secret from my team."

"Have you told anyone in your family Hinata?" asked Blake.

The Heiress shook her head. "I'm going to tell Hanabi-chan when she is older but right now she is too young to understand."

"That must be hard." said Pyrrha sympathetically. Hinata just nodded.

….

After Naruto cleared the table he finally worked up enough nerve to talk to the girls about his situation. They went into the living room. Naruto sat the three girls on the couch and he sat in the floor in front of them. He said, "Hinata-chan, Blake-chan, Pyrrha-chan; you've all trusted me with your secrets about Remnant and it's time I share my secrets with all of you."

Pyrrha was expecting a confession but this took the redhead off guard. "What secret do you mean Naruto-kun?" ' _He sounds very afraid_.'

Hinata and Blake had similar thoughts. ' _Could this be about the red chakra?_ ' wondered Hinata.

Naruto said, "I know Hinata-chan knows a bit about Kyubi. Pyrrha-chan, Blake-chan; do you know about the nine-tails?"

"I know that it attacked on October 10th and it destroyed a lot of the village years ago." said Blake. "It cost Konoha a lot of ninjas before it died."

Pyrrha nodded. "I know the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to kill it. Why do you ask?"

Naruto took a breath and said, "You can't kill a bijuu. The Fourth Hokage couldn't kill it so he did the next best thing; he sealed it away."

"You mean the Kyubi is still alive?" asked Blake with a gasp.

Hinata whispered, " _The red chakra_ …." with a look of realization.

"Where is it sealed?" asked Pyrrha.

"It was sealed into a newborn baby." said Naruto. "It was too powerful to be sealed in an inanimate object."

"Then…." said Blake.

Hinata said, "Y-your birthday is October 10th. You were that baby weren't you Naruto-kun?" She had tears in her pearl like eyes.

The blonde nodded. "I am the container of the Kyubi no Kitsune. That's why so many villagers hate me. I'll understand if any of you girls don't want to be around me anymore. I wanted you all to know because….because I like all of you very much…."

Naruto found himself locked in the embrace of all three girls. He was shocked. Everything was a blur and he started crying as he did his best to hug all of the girls back. They were all crying too. Hinata kissed him and said, "Naruto-kun….I wish I had known. I would have been there for you so much sooner."

Blake kissed him as well, "I guess that's why you always smelled like a fox to me Naruto-kun. You've had a terrible burden on you since the day you were born. I would never turn away from you. You just hold the Kyubi; you are you Naruto-kun."

Pyrrha ruffled Naruto's hair and kissed his forehead before she kissed him again on the lips. "I always wondered why people talked the way they did about you. We will keep you safe Naruto-kun."

" _Thank you_ …." whispered Naruto. "You are all so special to me."

Naruto spent the rest of the evening just cuddling with the girls. Once everyone calmed down from crying it was nice to just snuggle up and relax….

Blake, Pyrrha and Hinata each kissed Naruto goodnight later that night. They all felt closer than ever and Naruto felt better about himself than he had in years. He made a clone to escort each of the girls home.

The blonde ninja thought to himself as he laid down for the night, ' _I'll do everything in my power to protect you girls. You are my most precious ones_ ….'

….

POSTSCRIPT:

We covered a lot of territory this chapter.

I hope everyone enjoyed the tragic ** _"BBEEELLCHH!"_** death of Zetsu. This kind of puts a hitch in the Moon's Eye Plan doesn't it? Pyrrha made her move at last much to Hinata and Blake's shock. Naruto has confessed to the girls about Kyubi and how he feels and they all seem to reciprocate his feelings. We got to see some character interaction between Tayuya and Hiashi and the invasion of Oto Village proper is drawing near. We also saw the Hyūga Elders sense of fashion is rather lacking. How would Hinata and Hanabi react to seeing their Grandfather in a fuchsia wig? For all that matter; how is Hiashi going to react to seeing the Elders in their bath towel turbans? See you next time. Blue out. 10/4/16


	17. Chapter 17

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Blake, Pyrrha and Hinata are all Naruto's girlfriends for the many who have asked. Okay, so RWBY Season 4 has started and there are several new bad guys. Tyrian (the loon that cackles so much) reminds me of Jabba the Hutt's annoying little sidekick, Salacious Crumb from _Return of the Jedi_. I'm tempted to bring him over to the Elemental Nations just to give him a humiliating death….maybe via drowning him in a toilet. Cinder/Hinata would enjoy that. Oh, well. Aside of that I posted a new Star Trek/Naruto crossover called **_Infinity Divide_** for those interested. Here is chapter 17. Enjoy!

Quote: " ** _STOP!_** _Pyrrha, you know I love you. But kick-step, kick-step, body-roll_ _ **is NOT rocket science!**_ " _-Lie Ren directing Team JNPR's new dance moves, RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 _"….I am the container of the Kyubi no Kitsune. That's why so many villagers hate me. I'll understand if any of you girls don't want to be around me anymore. I wanted you all to know because….because I like all of you very much…."_

 _Naruto found himself locked in the embrace of all three girls. He was shocked. Everything was a blur and he started crying as he did his best to hug all of the girls back. They were all crying too. Hinata kissed him and said, "Naruto-kun….I wish I had known. I would have been there for you so much sooner."_

 _Blake kissed him as well, "I guess that's why you always smelled like a fox to me Naruto-kun. You've had a terrible burden on you since the day you were born. I would never turn away from you. You just hold the Kyubi; you are you Naruto-kun."_

 _Pyrrha ruffled Naruto's hair and kissed his forehead before she kissed him again on the lips. "I always wondered why people talked the way they did about you. We will keep you safe Naruto-kun."_

 _"_ _Thank you…._ _" whispered Naruto. "You are all so special to me."_

 _Naruto spent the rest of the evening just cuddling with the girls. Once everyone calmed down from crying it was nice to just snuggle up and relax…._

 _Blake, Pyrrha and Hinata each kissed Naruto goodnight later that night. They all felt closer than ever and Naruto felt better about himself than he had in years. He made a clone to escort each of the girls home._

 _The blonde ninja thought to himself as he laid down for the night, '_ _I'll do everything in my power to protect you girls. You are my most precious ones…._ _'_

….

Chapter 17

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower**

Late that night while Naruto was settling into bed; the Third Hokage was looking over the latest war reports from the front. ' _From what Jiraiya says here there are dozens of underground prisons estimated that may be full of people from ninja clans that were incarcerated for_ _ **experimentation**_ _by Orochimaru.'_ Hiruzen sighed _. 'I considered Orochimaru to be my most prized student. How could he have fallen to this level? Where did I go wrong?_ '

Equally disturbing were the reports of a massive Nevermore spotted in Ame. No one there in Rain Country knew what it was but Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly did. Reading the reports of his agent just last night had been enough to convince the Third Hokage that it was time to set the wheels in motion….Hiruzen didn't want to lose his spy in Ame but it was time to act. The Akatsuki could evolve into a major threat given time so the aged Hokage sent out the order and hoped for the best….

"If this is truly what Grimm are capable of then banding nations together could be the _only_ option." thought Hiruzen aloud.

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Team 7 was facing an unexpected situation first thing the next morning….

Naruto, Pyrrha and Blake stared dumbfounded at their sensei. "You want us to learn to dance…." said Naruto in a flat tone.

Kakashi pirouetted and said, "It improves flexibility and body strength as well as coordination. It also is an excellent way to work out."

Blake coughed. "No offense sensei, but seeing you frolic around like that made me throw up a bit in my mouth…."

"Perhaps with some instruction we could all benefit from it." said Pyrrha in a positive tone.

"You already know how to dance well Pyrrha." said Blake mutinously.

Naruto sat down on his rear in the grass and said, "You got this idea from Gai-sensei didn't you Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi gave a double eye smile and then sweat dropped at the three flat stares he was receiving. "….Gai might have had something to do with it….But it really is a good workout…."

Naruto cringed at the idea of Kakashi in green spandex and then remembered Jiraiya's words….

 _Flashback…._

 _"I'm telling you the truth Naruto." said the white haired sanin "Women love a man that can dance. Nothing sweeps a girl off her feet like a man that can_ _ **literally**_ _sweep them off of their feet!"_

 _"And how is that going to help me kick the crap out of Neji in the chunin exams?" asked the orange loving ninja with a snort._

 _Jiraiya started counting off the benefits on his fingers. "Increased physical strength, improved cardiovascular flow, greater flexibility, better coordination throughout the body….and above all else; there is_ _ **nothing**_ _like dancing with a_ _ **hot**_ _woman!"_

 _Flashback end…._

Naruto pondered dancing with Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake. _'….Dancing with a_ _ **hot**_ _woman! ….Dancing with a_ _ **hot**_ _woman!'_ echoed in his mind as he thought about all those luscious curves grinding against his body with a goofy smile. His nose started to trickle blood and the blonde smacked himself. ' _Not a pervert!_ ' he thought sweating.

That's when he saw Pyrrha leaning over looking into his eyes with concern. "Are you alright Naruto-kun? You just slapped yourself…."

As she leaned over Pyrrha was unintentionally giving Naruto an outstanding view of her generous cleavage and Naruto started to perspire. "I was just thinking…. ' _just how amazingly hot all you girls are!_ ' ….that Kakashi-sensei had better promise to not put us in green spandex."

Blake's usually calm amber eyes shot wide open and she said, "I'm willing to learn dancing but green spandex is out!"

Pyrrha also was looking at Kakashi with an eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip. "I'm afraid we would have to go into a _full revolt_ if green spandex unitards get involved Kakashi sensei." She said it so politely that the mild killing intent underlying her threat would be missed by the less observant.

Fortunately Kakashi was _very_ observant. The silver haired jonin sweat dropped and he said, "I swear to you on the honor of the Hatake Clan name that no green spandex will be involved…."

Blake smirked slightly and said, "Well, I'm game if Naruto-kun and Pyrrha-chan are."

Pyrrha nodded. "I'm willing as well. It will help our teamwork."

Naruto stood up and smacked his fist in his palm. "Let's do this then!"

….

Music played and the pile of bodies started to shift. Kakashi's roar of laughter echoed through the forest. Naruto was on the bottom with the two girls were splayed out on top of him. "Ummm….Naruto-kun, I think Kakashi-sensei meant your _other_ left…." muttered Blake.

"I think we were crowding up a bit. We need a little more space between us so we don't get tangled up." said Pyrrha diplomatically.

"So this is what grass tastes like…." mumbled Naruto with his face in the dirt.

That's when they heard Yamanaka Ino explode into laughter. " _Bwahahaha!_ We heard music and laughing and decided to investigate but this is better than I thought possible!" the blonde kunoichi guffawed.

Asuma smiled. "What are you doing Kakashi? I'd never subject Team 10 to this kind of torture."

Kakashi clicked off the boom box playing the music and said between snickers, "Actually they were doing really well until that second chorus….then everything kind of imploded."

"You rolling on the ground laughing wasn't the biggest help either Kakashi-sensei!" said Naruto accusingly from his place on the bottom of the pile.

The silver haired jonin said, "But the looks on your faces were priceless! Bwahahaha!"

The three genins of Team 7 rose like creatures of the undead with creepy smiles on their faces and Blake said, "I think it's time for an impromptu spar Kakashi-sensei. _Get him guys!_ "

Team 10 watched with wide eyes as Pyrrha, Blake and Naruto exploded into action to pummel their sensei. Kakashi was still laughing as he fought back their brutal assault.

Choji held out a handful of chips to his teammates and said, "I had no idea they were this strong."

Shikamaru's dark eyes were locked on the battle in front of him. Kakashi was constantly throwing Team 7's tactics off by changing forms but Team 7 was changing gears like a well oiled machine and didn't let up for a second. "Is _this_ what you mean by _full contact sparring_ Asuma-sensei?" asked the lazy boy with a look of shock. Shikamaru winced as Naruto ricocheted between trees and narrowly missed Kakashi. The ground cratered when Naruto hit in an explosion of chakra.

Ino stared dumbfounded as Blake used the kneeling Naruto as a springboard to make an aerial attack on Kakashi. She made a clone midflight that Kakashi dispelled only for the real Blake to plow into him. Kakashi used the cat eared girl's momentum against her and flipped her over his shoulder sending Blake flying into the trees. She stuck to the bottom of a large branch and got ready to strike again.

Pyrrha was a blur in motion as she attacked Kakashi head on with a fearsome taijutsu combo. Asuma whistled lowly as the titian haired tigress moved. Kakashi hit Pyrrha with an uppercut only for her to convert that momentum into a spin kick that the silver haired sensei had to lean back to avoid. Kakashi was then attacked from behind by Naruto which forced the jonin to leap….right into the flight path of Blake who landed a solid kick.

Kakashi held up his hand and all three genins stopped. They had him surrounded. Kakashi scratched his chin. "Not bad kids. I was moving at jonin speeds for a change. I think we need to increase your weights again."

Asuma chuckled as his three genin's jaws dropped. Ino said incredulously, "You mean you guys were _just sparring?_ I thought you were trying to _murder_ Kakashi-sensei!"

Pyrrha laughed. "Well….we weren't holding back but all of us trust each other to pull our punches to avoid any unnecessary injuries. It isn't called _full contact_ sparring for nothing you know."

"Troublesome." said Shikamaru as he sat down. "I'm exhausted just from _watching_ that so called spar."

Asuma smiled and patted the shoulders of Shikamaru and Choji. "You three have nothing to worry about. You'll be at that level soon enough. Your teamwork is excellent."

"Really Asuma-sensei?" asked Choji. "They were so fast I could hardly follow."

"You must have really been cracking the whip hard Kakashi." said Asuma as he lit up a cigarette. "That was an outstanding spar though." he added in praise.

Kakashi shook his head, "Actually I'm working hard myself. Team 7 is determined to push themselves to the next level every day. If I don't keep up I'll be in a world of hurt." He turned to his team. "Let's take a break guys."

The three genins of Team 7 flopped down under the shade of the big tree they always had lunch under. Pyrrha said, "Why don't you come over and join us Ino-chan? Team 10 looks tired."

Choji said, "I think just watching you guys in high speed combat wore us out." He and his teammates sat down with Team 7 under the big tree. "So how long have you guys been sparring at that level?"

Naruto replied, "After our battle in Midori Village we all decided to take it up a notch. We need to be prepared for anything." Naruto took off his jacket and shook the dirt off of it. "Actually, I think _dancing_ is harder than sparring."

Ino was staring at Naruto's physique and saw he only had a mesh shirt on under his jacket. She drooled slightly. "Naruto; since when have you been all muscle?"

Naruto explained, "Ever since that Oto agent tried to kill me I've been working out hard and eating right to improve my stamina and muscle tone. Choji's family has been a big help because they put me on a special diet; right Choji?"

The big boned boy nodded vigorously. "We sure have Naruto. You guys should have seen Naruto after the attack. When he got out of the hospital he was skin and bones. I'm glad we could help."

' _He looks good enough to eat_.' thought Ino lasciviously. ' _He should leave that jacket off all the time_.'

Blake was quietly observing Ino. ' _What's she doing taking a walk all over my boyfriend with her eyes?_ ' The feline faunus girl cleared her throat, "So Ino, what brings Team 10 out this way anyway?"

Ino tore her eyes away from Naruto and said, "We were looking for a large training ground to practice our jutsus today and then we heard music playing over here." She chuckled. "That's when we saw you guys in your epic dog pile on the ground."

 _Team 7 would never live this down_ ….

….

 **Rice Country, Outer fortifications of Oto Village**

" ** _Alright you mother fucking cunts! If you little bitches want to live you'd better open this god damn door yesterday!_** " roared Tayuya at an armored outpost. She turned to Mitarashi Anko who was leading the squad sent to destroy or capture this particular fortification. Tayuya smiled at Anko and said, "Don't worry, these are friends of mine."

"Do you ever kiss your Mother with that mouth?" asked Anko with a sweat drop. ' _Here I thought_ _ **I**_ _was fouled mouthed_ ….' thought the Snake Mistress.

Tayuya was about to answer Anko when they heard a shuffling noise behind the door. "Is that you Tayuya?" asked a female voice from behind the door.

An identical voice said, "Of course it's Tayuya, Miltia! Who _else_ do we know that talks like that?"

"I guess you're right Melanie." said the now named Miltia. "Aren't you a traitor Tayuya?" she asked through the door. "Didn't you betray Orochimaru-sama?"

"He betrayed me first!" bellowed Tayuya. "Besides, the cocksucker ran away with that pansy-ass Kabuto. What have you got left to defend? You two owe me one anyway."

The armored door creaked open and two girls in Oto kunoichi uniforms opened the door. The both had black hair and green eyes. Other than the fact they had different hair lengths they were identical. The long haired one had bladed boots and the short haired one had clawed gauntlets.

Tayuya said, "This is Melanie and Miltia Malachite.** They are identical twins and good fighters but they're bat shit insane. They claim they're from another world called Remnant. I found them down in **the pit** that the snake fag dumps his dead bodies.

The Malachite twins gazed at Anko who was staring at them. After a stare off Anko said, "Have either of you ever heard of a guy named Ozpin? He's supposed to be famous in Remnant or something."

Melanie said, "He's only the Headmaster at Beacon Academy! Everyone in Vale has heard of him!"

Tayuya looked at Anko with wide eyes and said, "You mean these two kooks are telling the truth?"

Anko nodded. "How did you two get here? How did you die?"

The twins cringed slightly. "We died when a huge Goliath crushed us inside Junior's Nightclub." said Miltia. "We never saw it coming until it was too late."

 _Flashback…._

 _Vale was in chaos and Creatures of Grimm were running amok along with members of the White Fang. Melanie and Miltia were Junior's bodyguards but had lost track of him during the fighting. The White Fang members that crashed into the club were mostly dead or unconscious at the hands of the Malachite twins. The red and white dressed pair were both exhausted from all the fighting and were leaning against a damaged outside wall of the club. "Melanie, what are we going to do? I saw Grimm running around loose outside we aren't huntresses!"_

 _Melanie grabbed her twin's hand and said. "Don't worry; we'll lay low until this blows over. Then we can link up with Junior. The White Fang is a bigger threat to us because they are trying to kill humans! The Grimm are just a bunch of dumb beasts."_

 _That's when they heard a monstrous groan and the wall they were leaning against started to collapse in on them. "RUN MILTIA!" screamed Melanie as the wall gave. The last thing the twins saw as the wall fell on them was the elephant like form of a Goliath. Then there was a flash of white light. The Malachite twins were crushed to death still holding tightly to each other's hands…._

 _…._

 _A pair of identical twin girls named Nana and Mana from the Fuma Clan were nearly dead. Orochimaru had formulated a way to 'merge' them like Sakon and Ukon of the Sound Four could and the experiment had proven to be a failure. When the twin ninjas tried to merge their bodies started breaking down and left the two girls crippled and deformed beyond help. Kabuto ordered them to be disposed of since they couldn't provide any more useful data to the project. They were dropped into an underground cavern simply called '_ _ **The Pit**_ _' where a massive pile of bodies was….all of them the remains of failed experiments that died. Neither twin was strong enough to speak but Nana and Mana reached out to one another and held hands in defiance of their horrible fate…._

 _…._

 _Tayuya was passing near the opening to **t**_ _ **he pit**_ _and heard someone calling for help. Normally the redhead wouldn't give a damn but whoever it was sounded alive and healthy. '_ _What the fuck…? Everyone thrown down there is nine-tenths dead or worse. Did some dumb jackass fall down there?_ _' Two hours later the Malachite twins were on the surface shivering in fear. Tayuya managed to snap them out of it and gave them some food. The Sound Four member wasn't sure what to think but left them under guard while the twins showered all the filth and blood off of their bodies. One of Tayuya's guards tried to have his way with the traumatized twins while they were washing but by the time Tayuya got in there to stop him the pair had already beaten and kicked the would be rapist to death…._

 _Tayuya said, "….How would you two like to serve on my squad? No one knows you're alive anyway." Melanie and Miltia followed Tayuya loyally after that…._

 _…._

 _Flashback end…._

"So all that crazy shit about merging with another person you two blathered on about was true?" asked Tayuya. Seeing the Malachite twins nod emphatically; Tayuya said, "Holy shit! I kind of feel bad now…."

Anko looked at the twins and said, "If you are anything like the others who went through this we need to get you with a Yamanaka to straighten out your heads. Are you loyal to Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru experimented on us and **_murdered_** us." said Melanie. "Tayuya is the only one we trust."

The Snake Mistress turned to her subordinates and said, "Get me ANBU Hawk. These two girls are showing all the signs of PTSD and need help."

….

 **Rain Country, Ame Village**

Uchiha Itachi opened his coded orders and then quietly sighed. He burned them to ash with a small fire jutsu and went down to the infirmary were Tobi –or Madara –or whoever the Uchiha was laid there stubbornly clinging to life. It was rare to ever see the man with his mask off (Itachi had only seen it once before) but the _true leader_ of Akatsuki was currently helpless as a baby.

Itachi emotionlessly pulled his tanto and cleanly removed the head of Tobi in one precise cut. The soft flesh of Tobi's neck gave little to no resistance against the razor sharp steel of Itachi's blade. Itachi then sealed up the head in a scroll and turned to leave in absolute silence….

Itachi saw his partner Kisame standing in the doorway blocking the exit. Kisame said, "Why did you kill Tobi? Who are you working for?"

The Uchiha said emotionlessly, "Don't play dumb Kisame. You know Leader-sama answered to Tobi….He was a threat to the peace that I want in this world."

The shark like man said, "So you still work for the Hidden Leaf…?" Seeing Itachi nod; Kisame looked thoughtful for a moment and then stepped aside. "Leader-sama will be displeased but….I'm no match for you. I was never here. Good luck Itachi." Kisame vanished in a body flicker.

Within the hour Itachi left Ame and donned a mask he hadn't worn in years. It was his ANBU Weasel mask. Shedding his Akatsuki robes for good ANBU Weasel headed for the Fire Country border and his home, Konoha….

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

Sasuke was sparring with his sword instructor as his concubine/wife Karin watched. "You're so amazing Sasuke-kun!" said Karin with stars in her eyes.

Watching over this from the ledge above was a thoroughly unimpressed kunoichi; Guren of the crystal release. "You want me to serve as this….weakling's….wife Orochimaru-sama? I don't know what to say."

Orochimaru smiled and said, "His potential to be my next body is limitless Guren-chan. I know you are disappointed but he should be able to give you powerful children. I have great plans for the new Uchiha Clan which will be at my beck and call. If a child could be conceived with both the sharingan and your crystal release, imagine the possibilities."

Guren frowned and said, "I thought that two kekkei genkai would cancel each other out and leave the offspring with neither ability."

"While that's within the realm of possibility; the child having multiple bloodlines is also a possibility." said Orochimaru. "Also, I believe you could help me mold Sasuke-kun into a much more powerful ninja that will serve me loyally. The boy's thirst for power sometimes makes him forget his station. That is a flaw I would like you to get rid of."

The blue haired kunoichi sighed. "I will follow your wishes of course Orochimaru-sama."

The white snake smiled widely and said, "Do not fear bending him to your will. The boy needs discipline and as his concubine you can provide it in ways that others can't. Just get to know Sasuke-kun first. Don't even hint around that you are more than a sparring partner and instructor." He patted Guren's shoulder and left her to watch over Sasuke's spar by herself.

Guren looked down at Sasuke and saw his three tomoe sharingan spinning wildly as he sparred with his sword instructor. She also noted his curse seal. ' _This boy is nothing special except for his eyes. He's leeching off Orochimaru-sama's power with that curse seal. It will be a long time before I view him worthy of even_ _ **touching**_ _me_ ….'

….

Kabuto wondered about Guren's position on this matter. After Kimamaro, Guren was the most suitable to become Orochimaru's next vessel. Even Kabuto feared her power. The bespectacled medic asked, "Is this wise Orochimaru-sama? I cannot see Guren willingly letting Sasuke have his way with her the way his two current concubines do."

"I'm _counting_ on that Kabuto." said Orochimaru. Seeing Kabuto's confused look the snake sanin said, "I intended to instruct Sasuke-kun personally but with the fall of Oto I have too much to do before I can teach him properly. Guren-chan won't bed him until she's satisfied that he is _worthy_ of her. She will train him into the ground in my place. I assure you she will be a harsh taskmaster and make Sasuke-kun stronger. She knows better than to harm him _too_ much….If they do actually end up conceiving powerful children then it will be a bonus."

Kabuto nodded in understanding. "Forgive me for questioning your judgment Orochimaru-sama. I have much to learn."

"You simply weren't looking ahead far enough Kabuto-kun." said Orochimaru. "Come my apprentice, there are many tasks at hand. Sasuke-kun is in good hands with Guren-chan."

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Training Ground 9**

Maito Gai looked a bit harried. He was attempting to introduce the new (temporary) team member of Team 9 to Tenten and Neji. Unfortunately said team member introduced himself.

"Hello bun haired girl; dickless. My name is Sai." said the ROOT trainee that had skin that was white as a sheet.

Tenten was a bit dumbfounded by Sai's introduction but Neji was _pissed_. " _Who are you calling_ _ **dickless**_ _you pale skinned freak of nature?!_ " roared Neji.

Gai took a pontificating tone. "Sai; you should treat your comrades with respect! We must fan your _Flames of Youth!_ Clearly they are just sparks now but we will turn them into a blazing inferno!"

Sai stared at Gai for a few seconds as if the Green Beast had sprouted a second head. "I have read that nicknames are a good way to make friends sensei. Dickless here seems fine with it."

Tenten was holding Neji back from murdering their new teammate and Gai just face palmed.

It took some _serious effort_ to render Maito Gai speechless….

….

 **Konoha Market District, Dango Shop**

Later Team 8 was having an early lunch before they started their second patrol and they were discussing the situation with the Creatures of Grimm. Kurenai had the memorandum regarding the creatures and was showing the pictures to her genins. Naturally Hinata was able to tell them a lot because she'd dealt with them a great deal in her previous existence. "So essentially these creatures exist to destroy humans and were spawned in some sort of pit in Remnant?" asked Kurenai.

"That's it in a nutshell Kurenai-sensei." said Hinata. "That doesn't explain their presence here in the Elemental Countries though. Kakashi-sensei and I have theorized that they may have come over the same way I did."

"And they actually evaporate when they are killed?" asked Kiba. Seeing Hinata nod he said, "That's really creepy."

The Byakugan Princess nodded in agreement. "They seem to leave some sort of body behind here though so it's clear that they've adapted in some way. I wish I knew more but the best thing we can do is exterminate the creatures before they grow too strong."

"It is most distressing that any of this happened Hinata." said Shino. "On the other hand we would have lost you if it had not happened so as far as I'm concerned the good outweighs the bad."

Hinata smiled and said, "Thank you Shino-kun."

"Now if we could just get this damn war with Oto over with…." said Kiba.

 _Everyone shared the same sentiments on that subject_ ….

….

 **Yakiniku Q Restaurant**

Meanwhile Teams 7 and 10 decided to have lunch together at Ino's suggestion. They sat down in the Yakiniku Q restaurant and the blonde kunoichi said, "Take your jacket off Naruto-kun; you might as well sit down and relax."

Pyrrha's green eyes narrowed and she saw Blake's jaw tense. ' _Blake-chan's right; Ino-chan_ _ **is**_ _interested in Naruto-kun. I'd have never dreamed it a month ago when she was trying to convert us to the Cult of Sasukeism_.' The redhead sweat dropped. ' _Of course, she thought Blake-chan was from the Village Hidden in Mascara or something too….I never did figure out if she was sober or drunk when she came up with that idea_ ….'

While Pyrrha was having less than polite thoughts; Blake's were downright vengeful. She was letting off a bit of unfocused killing intent but Naruto reached over and held her hand under the table. ' _I wonder what has Blake-chan so tense._ ' "Is everything okay Blake-chan?" asked the orange loving ninja.

The cat eared girl relaxed a bit and smiled weakly. She said, "I guess I'm just really hungry Naruto-kun." ' _That and Ino is trying to eye-rape you and I want to smack her upside the head_.'

Naruto smiled and nodded. ' _I hope that's all. I'd swear her hand was creeping towards her Gambol Shroud a minute ago_.' he thought worriedly.

"I'm really hungry myself." commented Choji.

Ino sweat dropped. "You're always hungry Choji."

"Looks like the food is here." said Asuma deflecting the escalating discussion that would inevitably lead to Choji's plumpness being brought into question….

….

 **Rice Country, Outer defense perimeter of Oto Village**

The tunnels leading into Oto Village led to numerous underground holding facilities full of prisoners just as Tayuya's maps indicated. The entire Konoha invasion was bogged down just as Orochimaru predicted and they weren't even in Oto Village proper yet. Jiraiya was disgusted with his ex-teammate's total lack of respect for human life. ' _This place is a nightmare, not a village_.' thought the white haired sanin to himself. They eventually stumbled upon **_The Pit_** that was clearly marked on the map as an area to avoid. Several Konoha troops got sick just smelling the stench of the rotting corpses in that hole in the ground.

Shikaku was confounded with how many prisoners/refugees that the Konoha forces already had and there were surely more to come. The ninjas infiltrating the prison areas found that the places were abandoned by the guards and it was simply a matter of cutting the locks to get the prisoners out. Keeping the refugees orderly and leading them to the safety of the surface was a difficult task to say the least. It was a logistical nightmare to care for these people as well. Feeding hundreds of refugees wasn't something the Konoha forces were prepared for but they managed to empty the outer fortifications of the food stocks to help the former prisoners out.

As for the Oto troops themselves; the outer edges of the village were filled with nothing but apathy. What Anko and Tayuya had run into earlier with the Malachite twins was actually typical. The remaining Oto forces that wanted to fight were holed up in the tunnels and fortifications deep in the village proper. Most of the outer area defenders served Orochimaru out of fear and since he had abandoned them most surrendered in the face of the advancing Konoha forces. Quietly surrendering seemed to be preferable to fighting to the death….

"I've never seen an army so demoralized in my life." said Jiraiya. "Orochimaru left them nothing to fight for."

Shikaku shook his head. "I guess Orochimaru planned for these people to throw their lives away in his name. There are so many underground places where Orochimaru's troops were abandoned that desolation is all they know of. It's no wonder they are surrendering without a fight. Most of them aren't even ninjas; just local militias formed to fight us."

Jiraiya growled, "And while we try to help these poor people Orochimaru has made a clean getaway. God damn him!"

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower**

Luckily for the people of Rice Country, the Third Hokage had dealt with crisis situations like famine and drought before. Considering what reports had flowed in about possible prisoners; Sarutobi Hiruzen had already put plans for relief in motion. It was very fortunate that Fire Country actually had a bumper crop problem that year. Without enough places to store the grains there was a huge potential loss of food that was going to literally rot away. Caravans were already being set up to send aid to the Rice Country refugees. In addition, the majority of the ex-prisoners were completely innocent and just wanted to _get out_ of Rice Country.

The Fire Daimyo mercifully sent his samurai to the Rice Country border to receive the influx of immigrants that would no doubt result from this situation. For now the plans to invade Oto Village proper were on hold until the refugee situation was taken care of. The entire area surrounding Oto was encompassed by Konoha forces that were getting the innocent people out. It would be some time before an assault was mounted by Jiraiya's forces. It was a victory of sorts but a hollow one. Orochimaru had escaped but Rice Country was essentially freed of his influence. The Daimyo of Rice Country already was negotiating a peace with the Fire Country Daimyo's representatives and he had ordered Oto Village to surrender to the Konoha Forces.

The remaining Oto forces hadn't made a move to fight or to surrender. For the time being it was simply a stalemate.

All Jiraiya could do at this point was sit and wait….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

**The Malachite twins were the two bodyguards that worked at Junior's Nightclub in Vale. They were seen in the RWBY 'Yellow' Trailer fighting against Yang and also made a brief appearance in RWBY Season 2.

Well, the addition of the Malachite twins wasn't originally planned but I was re-watching the original RWBY Trailers and thought how cool it would be to have a tag team like that in the story. I do have plans for them and hopefully I'll be able to showcase their fighting style properly (should be a challenge). For right now they are kind of messed up in the head though so it will be a bit before they are stable again.

The Oto/Konoha War is over for the most part but the cleanup and aftermath will take weeks. Whether a final assault on Oto Village proper is needed remains to be seen. Odds are the Konoha genin teams are going to be doing some caravan escort duty as the regular Konoha forces start rotating home so regular missions will start again soon. That leaves us with poor Guren stuck babysitting Sasuke, Sakura presumably making her way home and last but not least, ANBU Weasel heading back to Konoha after years as a missing nin.

On an unconnected note, it seems to me that some of my most recent chapters of my stories have been a bit rushed so I'm going to throttle back a bit on the updates and see about doing a little more quality control with my work. If the updates seem a little slower for a while that is the reason why. See you next time. Blue out. 11/5/16


	18. Chapter 18

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm working a bit more on quality this time so this chapter took awhile longer to write. Hopefully it shows. This chapter we're going to get back to regular missions for our genin teams. The War is now more or less in the mop up stages now so most of the focus will be back on Konoha. Here is chapter 18. Enjoy!

Quote: " _Blake; do you ever get the feeling that -I don't know- you're just a supporting character in life and other people are having all the cool adventures?" -Jaune Arc lamenting his station in life, RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 ** _Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower_**

 _Luckily for the people of Rice Country, the Third Hokage had dealt with crisis situations like famine and drought before. Considering what reports had flowed in about possible prisoners; Sarutobi Hiruzen had already put plans for relief in motion. It was very fortunate that Fire Country actually had a bumper crop problem that year. Without enough places to store the grains there was a huge potential loss of food that was going to literally rot away. Caravans were already being set up to send aid to the Rice Country refugees. In addition, the majority of the ex-prisoners were completely innocent and just wanted to_ _get out_ _of Rice Country._

 _The Fire Daimyo mercifully sent his samurai to the Rice Country border to receive the influx of immigrants that would no doubt result from this situation. For now the plans to invade Oto Village proper were on hold until the refugee situation was taken care of. The entire area surrounding Oto was encompassed by Konoha forces that were getting the innocent people out. It would be some time before an assault was mounted by Jiraiya's forces. It was a victory of sorts but a hollow one. Orochimaru had escaped but Rice Country was essentially freed of his influence. The Daimyo of Rice Country already was negotiating a peace with the Fire Country Daimyo's representatives and he had ordered Oto Village to surrender to the Konoha Forces._

 _The remaining Oto forces hadn't made a move to fight or to surrender. For the time being it was simply a stalemate._

 _All Jiraiya could do at this point was sit and wait…._

….

Chapter 18

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower**

It had been two weeks since Oto Village had been cut off from the surrounding Land of Rice. Both the Konoha forces and the Daimyo of Rice Country demanded a complete surrender but the few ninjas left in Oto seemed to be the worst missing nins of Orochimaru's forces so surrender basically meant death for them due to bounties on their heads….

Sarutobi Hiruzen was reading Jiraiya's latest reports to himself aloud. "….And in conclusion Hokage-sama; the whole situation is a massive clusterfuck." Sarutobi sweat dropped. ' _Jiraiya-kun always did have a way with words_ ….' thought the aged leader. Hearing a knock at his door he asked "Who is it?"

He heard his secretary's voice. "It's Maki Hokage-sama. I have the lists of available teams for the next supply convoys to Rice Country. They need your stamp of approval."

"Come on in Maki; let me have a look at those." said Sarutobi. ' _The paperwork never ends. I wonder if I can con Tsunade-chan into taking this job…_.'

….

 **Mission Hall**

Later that morning, Umino Iruka was handing out the new assignments to the genin teams. Since several chunin teams had rotated back from Rice Country Konoha was secure and the genin teams were freed up for regular duties again. Inuzuka Kiba was elated. "An actual _escort mission_ Iruka-sensei?! After patrolling the village for weeks on end this will be a regular vacation!" The three genins on Team 8 _all_ looked happy (even Shino).

Kurenai smiled at her student's obvious enthusiasm. "We'll be escorting a supply caravan from Konoha up to the Rice Country border to help the many refugees there. After that we'll be escorting a refugee caravan back on our return trip. It should take a couple of weeks at most. Are you kids up for this?"

"Hai, sensei!" answered all of Team 8 in unison.

"Pack for two weeks then." said the red eyed jonin. "We leave from the North Gates at noon."

….

 **Hyūga Compound**

Hanabi was sitting on Hinata's bed as the heiress packed for her mission. "I wish you didn't have to be gone so long nee-chan." said Hanabi. "Father still hasn't returned either."

Hinata smiled and kissed Hanabi's nose making the younger girl giggle. "I'm trusting you to keep the clan in line Hanabi-chan. Both Father and I will be returning before you know it. In the meantime I've asked Kō to keep an eye out for you so if you need any help then just ask him." Hinata chuckled. "And try to behave for Natsu-san. She's been a bit overwhelmed lately with the war going on and all."

"Okay nee-chan; I'll keep the clan under control." said Hanabi. "If the Elders get too bossy I'll threaten to tell you about them when you get back."

Hinata beamed. "I'm so proud of you Hanabi-chan!" Both sisters laughed as Hinata finished packing.

Exchanging last hugs and kisses, Hinata said, "I'll see you soon Hanabi-chan. Be good while I'm gone."

"I will nee-chan!" said Hanabi as her big sister left through the gates of the compound. Hanabi sighed. "….I miss you already Hinata nee…."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

It was still before lunch and Team 7 had the day off. Naruto was planning to hang out with Blake and Pyrrha that afternoon and wasn't expecting company. He heard a knock on his door and saw Hinata decked out for combat with her twin swords/bow** on her back. Naruto smiled and the two greeted each other with a warm kiss. "Hinata-chan; I'm glad to see you." said Naruto happily as he let her inside. "What's up? Are you going on a mission?"

Hinata smiled at her boyfriend. "Yes, Team 8 has an escort mission. We're going to be out in the field for two weeks and I wanted to let you know before I left." She kissed him much more passionately and Naruto's hands roamed over his girlfriend's wonderful curves as her hands explored his body as well. When they separated they were both panting a bit and Hinata blushed prettily and smiled. She squeezed Naruto's hands in hers and said, "I'll be thinking about you Naruto-kun. I need to go."

Naruto gave her a peck on the lips and said, "Be safe Hinata-chan. I'll be thinking of you too."

The Byakugan Princess smiled and blew a kiss back at her boyfriend as she turned and left to join her team….

….

 **North Gate**

"I see you have your swords today Hinata." said Shino. "I've often wondered why you usually have them sealed in a scroll."

Hinata sighed softly and said, "I mainly keep the Gemini Blades*** sealed for the sake of Pyrrha Nikos while I'm in the village. She has an understandable dislike of this weapon."

"What happened?" asked Kiba curiously.

The Byakugan Princess had regret in her eyes and said, "Cinder Fall ruthlessly killed Pyrrha Nikos with this type of weapon in its bow form. She and I were enemies….We are friends now but it's understandable that the Gemini Blades would make her feel very uncomfortable."

Kurenai placed her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "She also has to realize that you are a kunoichi and need your weapons."

Hinata nodded. "She does but I can tell it still bothers her."

The red eyed jonin looked at her favorite student with sympathy. Then she noticed something. "Hinata-chan, where is your quiver of arrows? A bow isn't much use without them."

"Oh! That's right. I didn't tell you guys about the upgrades we made." said Hinata. "Naruto-kun added seals to the hand grips to store the arrows. I can make up to three steel arrows appear at a time just by channeling chakra through my fingertips. They can be regular arrows or I can channel flame chakra into them without difficulty."

"It sounds like Naruto is getting quite adept with seals." said Shino. "How many arrows are sealed in the bow?"

"Currently I can carry sixty arrows which is twenty in each seal." said Hinata enthusiastically. "Naruto-kun and Pyrrha-chan are both getting very skilled with seals."

"Pyrrha helped?" asked Kurenai surprised.

The Hyūga heiress nodded. "Pyrrha-chan made the basic seal design and Naruto-kun converted it to hold arrows and added them to Gemini. I'll show you." The Hyūga heiress unscrewed the hilt one of her blades and pulled out a small tube with a sealing scroll inside it. "These little cartridges hold twenty sealed arrows each." explained Hinata. "When I empty a cartridge I just swap it out for a new one. Naruto-kun and Pyrrha-chan are quite clever; wouldn't you agree?"

Kiba whistled. "As small as those cartridges are you could carry a dozen of them easily."

"How many spares to you have?" asked Shino.

"I carry twenty spare cartridges so I won't be running out of arrows anytime soon." replied Hinata as she closed up the sword hilt.

"Looks like our client is here team." said Kurenai. "Let's get going."

….

The leader of the caravan Team 8 was protecting was led by an older man whose squinty eyes were basically hidden under his shaggy gray eyebrows. He said worriedly, "Are you ninja Team 8 that is supposed to protect us?"

Kurenai showed him her mission papers and the old man sighed. "I don't see how three kids and a woman are going to protect ten cartloads of supplies and twenty five of my men."

The beautiful jonin's eyebrow twitched and Kurenai said, "I'm a jonin and my three genins are well trained and disciplined sir. Trust me; Team 8 will be sufficient."

The old man nodded warily and said, "I'm Nobuyuki but my men call me Jiji. Our lives are within your hands."

Introductions were soon made and the caravan got underway at a slow but steady pace….

….  
 **Naruto's Apartment**

While Team 8 was moving out; Naruto was sitting at home with Pyrrha who arrived minutes ago. They were waiting on Blake to help them decide what to do today. Blake soon arrived carrying a scroll. She looked excited when Nauto welcomed her in.

"What's in the scroll Blake-chan?" asked Naruto.

"It's a letter from Anko nee-chan." said Blake enthusiastically. "She's going to be coming home next week and she found a couple of refugees from Remnant. I thought I'd ask Pyrrha-chan if she knew of them."

"Who are they Blake-chan?" asked Pyrrha.

"They are a set of identical twins named Melanie and Miltia Malachite." said Blake. "I guess they were bodyguards at that nightclub called Junior's that Yang used to visit. I've never heard of them but they are from Vale."

"I'm afraid I've never heard of them or this Junior's place." said Pyrrha. "Hopefully we'll be able to befriend them regardless. How old are they?"

Blake looked at the scroll again, "Anko-nee says they are about our age and probably could use some friends. She said they are in bad shape from what happened to them in Oto Village but Anko nee-chan didn't go into other details except that they are ninja trained." The feline faunus girl pondered. "I don't really remember them from Oto Village but a lot of Kin's memories were lost when she and Blake merged. I hope we get along."

"Take off your bow Blake-chan." said Naruto. "You look so much better without it."

Blake smiled and blushed a tiny bit as she freed her ears and Naruto smiled warmly. "I guess I'm so used to hiding them that I forget sometimes." said Blake.

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

Sakura made it to the Northern Base after a huge detour to avoid the Konoha forces. Her visible green eye glinted in the darkness of the tunnels. "I need a new jian thanks to that bitch Pyrrha." she muttered angrily to herself. "I wonder when Ino-chan will come out to join us. It's going to be hard linking up with her again." she said happily. Then she thought darkly. ' _Now I have to deal with that bimbo Karin. I hope Sasuke-kun isn't angry at me for not getting Ino_.' "Who gave Sasuke the right to judge _me_ anyway? He's so lousy in bed. He needs to be punished for leaving me so unsatisfied…."

As the pinkette wandered through the narrow passages to the rooms she shared with Sasuke and Karin, she ran into Kabuto who wore his usual disarming smile. "Ah, good afternoon Sakura-chan. It's good to see you back safely. How did it go?"

The rosette growled. "Everything was _fine_ until that whore Pyrrha Nikos intervened. She cost me my jian and prevented Ino from killing Ayano. _I_ _ **hate**_ _that girl!_ " Then Sakura's voice changed to a happy tone. "But I'm sooo happy to be back home with my _Sasuke-kun!_ "

' _She's erratic as ever_ ….' thought Kabuto. "Well, I'll see about getting you a new sword out of the armory Sakura-chan. I'll need a written report from you on your mission for Orochimaru-sama of course."

Sakura's visible green eye turned hard as diamond as she glared at Kabuto. "I'll be interested in hearing how we _lost_ Oto Village to Konoha. Getting around the enemy's forces was _hell_."

Kabuto said in a pacifying tone, "I'm afraid that we ran into a few….setbacks just as you did. Orochimaru-sama will be expecting a report from you though so I ask that you take care of it."

Sakura glared and said, "Fine; I'll get a scroll. -Then I can see _Sasuke-kun!_ " she said all too happily.

Within the hour Kabuto had a very concise report of Sakura's mission. As he read it he noticed something disturbing. ' _There are_ _ **two**_ _styles of handwriting here….When she's describing something positive her handwriting is very girly and rounded but when she's writing a negative comment her kanji becomes very stilted and blocky. Did the Curse Seal cause her to develop a split personality?! I thought she actually died but then she steadied out. This is distressing. If she's going to be my apprentice in the medical field I_ _ **need**_ _to know what's going on inside her head_.' Kabuto made some notations and took the report to Orochimaru.

….

"….And those are my findings my Lord." said Kabuto to his master. "I can't imagine anything else that would cause such a thing. Her inconsistency and erratic mood swings would be explained by a split personality. One seems to be extremely positive and the other is the polar opposite coming across as totally negative."

Orochimaru scratched his chin. "This is most interesting. I wonder if the chakra from the Cursed Seal triggered a preexisting condition or if she developed it afterwards. None of the other Cursed Seal users had a reaction anything even _resembling_ this. What do we know about her 'switch?' Is there anything in particular that triggers the change?"

Kabuto sighed. "The only thing I've found that is truly consistent is she always keeps her sunny disposition when she's around Sasuke-kun. Otherwise she seems rather random although her negative side comes out more when she is alone. She often talks to herself as well although I don't know if she realizes this. Some of her comments I've overheard indicate a love/hate relationship with Sasuke-kun."

"Such as?" asked Orochimaru curiously.

The bespectacled nin sweat dropped. "Apparently Sasuke-kun doesn't live up to her expectations in bed…."

Orochimaru looked a bit dumbfounded for a moment and then roared in laughter. "My, my. It seems that Sakura-chan is quite the little spitfire. Keep an eye on her Kabuto. I'll be interested in seeing how this situation develops."

Kabuto bowed and said in a harried voice, "As you wish Orochimaru-sama…."

….

Sasuke's body skidded across the floor and he dropped his sword with a clatter. He groaned and Karin and Sakura both cried out, "Sasuke-kun!"

"Oh please…." said Guren darkly. "Even with a sword you can't _touch_ me Uchiha. This is a taijutsu _only_ spar. You're as weak as a baby. Get up. We're not done sparring yet. And leave that sword over there with Sakura before you hurt yourself."

Sasuke coughed and got up on his hands and knees. " _Bitch_ ….I don't need my sword to defeat you…." He slid his sword over in front of Sakura and said hoarsely, "Watch over that Sakura-chan."

Sakura picked up the katana and sheathed it. ' _Sasuke….this is pathetic.'_ she thought in a dark voice _. '_ _ **Naruto**_ _is stronger than this. I saw him sparring with_ _ **Jiraiya-sama**_ _and he always got up for more in an_ _ **instant**_ _. Guren's attacks are love taps compared to Jiraiya-sama's. Sasuke isn't worthy of me…._ ' thought the pinkette darkly as she watched Sasuke getting his ass handed to him by Guren. ' _Naruto_ ….'

' _Shut up you!_ ' thought Sakura angrily. ' _Sasuke-kun is my_ _ **dream man!**_ ' she thought in a shrill voice.

' _You may have me imprisoned but I can_ _ **think**_ _all I want to Sakura!_ ' growled her darker voice. ' _Sasuke's not fit to lick our boots. I'd rather have little blondes than little Uchihas. You'll see that I'm right you stupid fool_.'

"Damn you bitch!" shrieked Sakura aloud as Sasuke hit the floor unconscious.

Guren chuckled. "If you want to help Sasuke then yapping like a pink Pomeranian isn't going to help much Sakura. You should focus on getting stronger." Guren had no idea that Sakura's outburst was directed entirely at some else instead of her….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower**

The Third Hokage was listening to the report of one of, if not his _most_ loyal ANBU, Weasel. "That is my full report Hokage-sama. Other than Hoshigaki Kisame none of the other Akatsuki members saw me leave. There are no guarantees but I doubt Kisame will report me. Admitting he let me go without a fight would cast him in a very bad light."

Sarutobi nodded. "Once this war with Oto Village is over I want to fully exonerate you for your crimes. Finding out that other Uchiha that called himself Tobi murdered the Uchiha Clan members that were not in the coup d'état will make a world of difference in how the Village sees you."

Weasel said in a depressed tone, "I still murdered so many…." Then he asked, "Have we discovered Tobi's true identity yet?"

Hiruzen sighed. "He was one of ours that we thought died in the Third Shinobi War as a hero….I believe he was also the masked man that unleashed Kyubi upon the Village thirteen years ago."

The ANBU trembled in horror. "He….unleashed the Kyubi? So many died."

The aged leader said, "Take off you mask Weasel." Seeing Itachi's still young face Hiruzen said, "You've finally laid all those poor souls killed by Kyubi to rest Itachi. Take comfort in that." The old man sighed. "I don't know whether to reveal his name to the public or not so for now be content that a traitor was brought to justice. I read your medical reports from Tsunade. You are very fortunate she is back in the village. That lung disease you had would have killed you eventually. She's one of the few medic nins who has even _heard_ of it. The fact you will fully recover is most welcome news to me."

"I'm very indebted to Tsunade-sama." agreed Itachi. "I know she still has….issues with blood but she drew mine without comment."

"Senju Tsunade is a strong woman." said Hiruzen proudly. "She is slowly but surely getting over her issues and I intend to see you do the same. You are a hero Itachi. You've played the part of a missing nin far too long. What happened to you and your family was a tragedy I'll never forgive myself for."

"What about my brother Sasuke?" asked Itachi.

Hiruzen said in a firm but sad voice, "He did not live up to your expectations. All your hopes for him to start a new and honorable Uchiha Clan were destroyed when he murdered his own sensei for power. He is a traitor and a missing nin. It will be up to you to found a new and loyal Uchiha Clan Itachi."

Itachi looked crestfallen but said, "I read the reports but I did not wish to believe them Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen put a Fatherly hand on Itachi's shoulder and said. "For what it's worth Itachi; I did not wish to believe them either…."

….

 **Mission Hall**

The next morning Team 7 had a mission of their own assigned. Iruka said, "This came up this morning. It's a bandit extermination job to the east. A group has repeatedly raided the supply caravans coming from Otafuku Gai headed towards the Rice Country Border. Hokage-sama suggested I offer it to Team 7 first Kakashi. I would ordinarily assume a chunin squad would take this but it is still considered C to low B ranked. Do you want it?"

Kakashi looked at his team and say they all looked determined. They weren't being arrogant but had confidence in themselves. The silver haired jonin said, "This job will probably be bloody. We could get an escort mission instead if you don't feel you're ready for this."

Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha looked at each other for a moment and seemed to have a discussion with their eyes. All of them nodded and Pyrrha said in her always polite manner, "Team 7 will take this mission and do our very best."

Kakashi nodded. ' _They really are in perfect synch with each other_.' He said, "Pack for two weeks and meet at the Naruto's Apartment in an hour for a planning session. After that we'll head out. Bring a wartime combat load of weapons. Bring demolition tags as well."

As the three genins left to get their gear Kakashi received the maps of the areas that the caravans had been hit at as well as the information they knew. Iruka said, "This could be rough for those kids."

Kakashi nodded. "This sort of mission is something we all have to go through as ninjas Iruka. I'm confident they are ready. If it comes down to it, at least they've all seen heavy combat before."

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Team 7 was gathered up around Naruto's kitchen table looking over the map around Otafuku Gai. "They've struck six times at six different points along the main roads in the area." said Kakashi as he pointed to six red x marks on the map.

Blake looked over the pattern carefully. "We may be dealing with two separate groups. These two strikes in the north are far separated from the four in the south near Otafuku Gai."

Kakashi nodded in approval. "What else team?"

"The attacks in the south were always attributed to small groups and were always near a body of water." said Naruto. "That could mean missing nins using water jutsus."

"It's possible." said Pyrrha. "The stolen goods also could have been shipped out over water indicating boat users are involved and are leaving quickly with what they can take."

Blake traced her fingers over the small rivers that dotted the area. "All these attacks have been near bodies of water that are connected to Kurai Lake. That's where we should look first. If the bandits have a base near there we could take it out quickly."

"What about the two in the north?" asked Kakashi.

Pyrrha answered, "We take out the southern group first and then resupply at Otafuku Gai if necessary. Then we move northwards."

"Sounds like a solid plan." said Kakashi. "At a good pace it will take us two days to reach Otafuku Gai. Kurai Lake is slightly northwest of there. Let's move out team."

Soon Team 7 left the East gates. Destination: Kurai Lake….

….

 **Northern Fire Country**

Team 8 and the caravan they were escorting pitched their tents for the night and settled down to eat some dinner. "Well, we've been out for three days and no one has attacked us." said Nobuyuki to Kurenai. "Here's hoping that trend continues."

Kurenai took a sip from her canteen and said. "With as many Konoha ninjas and the Daimyo's Samurai in the area it seems unlikely that we will be attacked. I noticed you seemed very nervous when those samurai showed up to check on us earlier today. Why is that? Are you smuggling something?"

Nobuyuki sweat dropped. "I'm not a smuggler Kurenai-san. I was worried because they rode up so fast. I thought they were the _Reapers_."

Kiba asked; "Who are the Reapers Jiji?"

"You don't know much do you kid?" asked Nobuyuki obnoxiously.

"The Reapers are supposed to be a group of ronins that raid caravans and supply routes." said Shino. "Rumor has it they may be in Fire Country but it hasn't been confirmed."

"Rogue samurai….that can't be good." thought Hinata aloud. "What is their point of origin?"

"No one is sure." explained Nobuyuki. "Supposedly they first appeared in Earth Country and have gradually been moving eastward like nomads. They overwhelm small convoys with sheer numbers and by the time the authorities get there the bastards are long gone."

Kurenai was flipping through her bingo book and said, "Most of these so called Reapers are considered a C ranked threat but there are an estimated twenty or thirty of them. They actually have large bounties on them because of all the disruption they've caused in the last six months. Interesting."

Nobuyuki grunted. "Interesting or not they are damned dangerous and I doubt you kids would last long in combat with that many men."

"It all depends on how well trained they are." said Hinata. "A well trained samurai is a serious threat but if they are just a bunch of poorly organized ronins then I doubt they would be able to overwhelm us."

"Be that as it may; hopefully we won't run into any trouble, Reapers or otherwise." said Kurenai.

"Do they have an insignia?" asked Kiba.

Kurenai nodded. "Two crossed scythes in white on a red field. They have them on their armbands."

"We will just have to be diligent then." said Shino….

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

Sasuke grunted as he released inside of Sakura and basically collapsed on top of her from exertion. As he panted tiredly the rosette below him thought, ' _Same old missionary position. Same old wearing himself out before I get off. It's a good thing I have fingers or I'd die of boredom_ ….' She felt Sasuke roll off of her and turn away before he fell asleep. ' _This is pathetic. Karin says he's wonderful but she's either easy to please or is just plain lying_ ….'

' _Sasuke-kun is giving his all; you're just too demanding!_ ' said Sakura to herself.

' _Bullshit!_ ' growled the darker half. ' _Now I have to get myself off again damn it!_ ' She thought evilly to her other half, ' _Let's fantasize about Naruto while we fuck our self_ ….'

' _Don't you dare think about Naruto-baka you hussy!_ ' shrieked Sakura as the darker half laughed….

….

 **Eastern Fire Country, Kurai Lake Region**

Early in the morning Kakashi and his team arrived on the western end of Kurai Lake. The lake was foggy and the area was generally overcast. Team 7 was down in the reeds observing things from a distance. "There is a lot of noise coming from the northern edge of this lake." said Blake as her ears swiveled about. "We should do some reconnaissance before we make a move."

Kakashi quietly listened as his team brainstormed. "If two of us travel north through the trees we can see what's going on land side." said Naruto. "The other two can water walk over and see what's going on from the lake side. What do you think Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver haired jonin said, "Blake and I will head up over the land route because we're the fastest. We'll stay low because the fog will cover us. Naruto and Pyrrha can go over the water and observe. Tune your radios to channel 126 and signal when you get in position. Let's move team."

….

Naruto was quietly observing from his position on the lake. "I see eleven of them in the boathouse on the shore." said Naruto over his radio. "The boathouse isn't overly large but crates of supplies are stacked all around it. There also are two flat bottomed boats that look ideal for carrying river cargo tied off near the boathouse. Hmmm….It looks like they are wearing rebreathers. They are probably from Rain Country….I- Well, shit!" said Naruto as he went horizontal on the water with a splashing sound. "There's two more out here on the water!"

Naruto quickly found himself at a distinct disadvantage. Not only was he outnumbered and caught by surprise; he was in the water -the territory Rain ninjas were at their best. The two he was facing wasted no time stacking the deck in their favor. One was portly and obviously was a chakra powerhouse. He made a dozen water clones and didn't seem winded. The other was a lithe kunoichi with a rapier. Naruto flipped backwards into the fog and made a dozen shadow clones to face his opponent's water clones. The cacophony of kunais clashing rang across the water in the fog as the clone armies battled for supremacy.

Pyrrha heard the battle explode from her position and spotted the portly ninja who had a spiked mace drawn. The big ninja was looking for the original Naruto because the endless sea of orange clad shadow clones was too much for him to keep up with. Pyrrha saw him make another batch of water clones to join the battle and zoomed in on her target with her blade Miló drawn. He heard her footfalls on the water and turned to defend as her sword scarred the edge of his mace. Sparks flew and the big ninja wasn't expecting such strength from the red haired kunoichi.

"Damn it!" yelled the big man. "There are more of them Hotaru! Watch your back!"

Hotaru managed to sneak up on the original Naruto and stabbed him from behind. "One down…." she whispered. "Then 'Naruto' burst into smoke. "A clone? But he was separate from the others…." That's when Naruto's wind chakra covered fist hit her in the ribs and sent her skipping like a stone across the water….The whole battlefield heard her cry out in pain from the impact….

….

 **With Kakashi and Blake** ….

Blake heard Naruto over the radio fall into some sort of ambush and wanted to run to him but that would mean exposing herself and Kakashi to the enemy. She heard Kakashi whisper, "Steady Blake. Naruto can take care of himself." The two tree hopped over to the roof of the boathouse in silence and heard the Rain kunoichi Hotaru scream and then saw three of the Rain nins run out onto the lake. Kakashi signaled Blake to stay on the roof and attack in 60 seconds. She nodded and Kakashi vanished in a body flicker.

Kakashi appeared outside the entrance of the boathouse and ducked in. _'10 seconds_ ….' There was only on ninja as the others were outside on the dock. The ninja had his attention riveted to the battle outside and wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. It was child's play for a jonin of Kakashi's experience to slip up behind the ninja and slit his throat in silence. _'40 seconds_ ….' Kakashi lowered the body to the floor and positioned himself to strike through the door he cracked open….

Blake's amber eyes flashed in the sunlight. _'60 seconds_ ….' She launched two handfuls of senbon needles into the backs of the necks of two of the Rain ninjas. As their bodies lurched forward into the water; Kakashi exploded out onto the dock and took the head off a ninja with his White Light Chakra Saber.

The four remaining Rain nins were totally shocked at the sudden attack and jumped into combat ready stances.

' _Two on one odds_ ….' thought Kakashi. ' _This shouldn't be an issue_ ….'

….

 **Meanwhile out on the water** ….

Hotaru was gasping for breath. With one brutal hit the orange clad ninja had knocked her completely out of the fight. She knew her ribs were shattered. One of her comrades arrived and was trying to get to her as Naruto charged in from the other side to finish her off. Two other Rain nins ran out to help her partner Oboro who obviously was in trouble from the way he was yelling and screaming….

….

Oboro was in bad shape. He never dreamed Pyrrha would be so formidable. Figuring he was bigger and much stronger the big man tried to simply overpower her. He soon found her odd round shield Akoúo̱ was as big of a problem as her sword. Pyrrha deflected his mace to the side with the Miló and smashed him rapidly with her shield. He was disoriented and made a wild downward strike with his mace that hit the water. Pyrrha countered him and Oboro tried to block on reflex….His armguard was no match for her sword Miló and he lost his left hand at the wrist. Oboro screamed bloody murder and Pyrrha followed up by smashing her Akoúo̱ into his already mangled left arm causing it to break….

….

Naruto had to abort his attack on the downed kunoichi Hotaru because of another Rain ninja attacking him with a senbon launcher. As Naruto skidded across the water to avoid the spray of senbon needles when he noticed the Rain nin had a scratched out forehead protector. ' _Missing nins….Not that I'm surprised_ ….' The orange clad nin rolled to his feet and whispered. "Wind Slash."

Hotaru was horrified as her friend standing over her protectively exploded into bloody chunks of meat from the overpowered wind jutsu that cut him down in an instant. Gore rained down upon her from the horrific spectacle. She felt herself coughing up blood into her rebreather from Naruto's hit earlier and realized her lung was punctured from her shattered ribs. Naruto came into view and Hotaru said weakly, "I'll die before I let you take me alive monster." She then slit her own throat with her rapier. Naruto shook his head as she collapsed lifelessly into the water….

….

Miló tasted Oboro's blood a final time as Pyrrha took the big man's head off at the neck. She'd already defeated him but with two others coming the redhead couldn't risk letting him live. A tall and skinny Rain nin yelled "Oboro!" just as his friend's head separated from his shoulders. " _Damn you fucking bitch!_ " screamed the ninja at Pyrrha. He drew kunai and charged her in a rage. Pyrrha reacted like lightning on threw Akoúo̱ at the angry nin. The shield hit him in the neck before ricocheting back to her arm in a fluid movement.

The angry nin was choking and gasping for breath as two orange clad shadow clones splashed out from under the water and pulled the missing nin under the surface forever….

The original Naruto arrived just in time to se Pyrrha run the last Rain nin though the heart with Miló. Naruto sighed as she whipped her blade out of her enemy's body. He walked up slowly to the redhead and said, "Are you hurt Pyrrha-chan?"

"I'm just tired Naruto-kun." said the exhausted redhead. "Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be fine."

….

 **The Boathouse** ….

An unspoken signal sent the four Rain ninjas and two Konoha ninjas exploding into action. Two of the missing nins (a kunoichi and a shinobi) went after Kakashi from either side and the two others leaped up to the roof to go after the still unseen Blake. Blake's cat like reflexes were too much to be caught off guard and one of her assailants ended up with four senbon needles sticking out of his eyes and face. He screamed and fell back off the roof. The other ninja dodged easily. He chuckled and said, "You're pretty good little girl; but I'm a jonin and I'm too fast for your little needles." He produced a barbed whip and said. "I hope pain gets you off girl. You'll never reach me with that katana on your back." He cracked his whip dangerously.

That was when the feline faunus girl pulled her Gambol Shroud and spun it in its kusarigama form. She hissed, "You're not the only one with range…."

The jonin took a step back and started to sweat….

….

Kakashi flipped completely over his kunoichi opponent and got both of his enemies in front of him. About that time Blake's target with senbon needles in his eyes came screaming off the roof between the combatants. All three were a bit dumbfounded as he fell onto the deck face first. Any chances he would have lived were ended when the needles were shoved completely into his brain. His neck snapped as well in a gruesome display as the blood poured out of his downed face and flooded out around his head on the deck.

"Nori…?" asked the Rain kunoichi.

"I'm pretty sure he's dead…." said Kakashi with a sweat drop as the blood pooled. "At least I hope he is for his sake…."

….

Blake made a clone and dodged a whip strike as the barbs destroyed her clone. The jonin leaped back as her Gambol Shroud cut a deadly arc through the air. He counter struck in an effort to catch Blake's ankles but she did a handless cartwheel over the strike. The jonin laughed and said "Not bad but you can't change directions like I can." He almost grazed her arm but Blake was just quick enough to avoid a nasty gash. The jonin ducked another slash over his head that he agilely ducked. "How long can you keep dodging me girl?"

Blake growled, "You talk too much." as she sent a chakra burst down the Gambol shroud causing a chakra charge in the head of the kusarigama to detonate. The blade changed direction mid flight and the jonin barely had time to turn his head as the Gambol Shroud wrapped around his neck.

He choked out, "Wait!" as Blake pulled the blade back towards herself and took his head off in a geyser of blood that rained down on the deck below.

The jonin's head hit the deck and bounced into the water before his spasming body hit the deck as well. Blake appeared at Kakashi's side in a squat. She was coated in blood and hissed, "Who's next?"

The Rain ninja and kunoichi were shaking in fear and Kakashi said, "You know, surrender _is_ an option. I can only hold Blake back for so long…."

The two missing ninjas dropped their weapons and held their arms up in defeat. Kakashi said with a double eye smile, "Ah, I thought you two looked reasonable."

….

The wet and bloodied Naruto and Pyrrha soon water walked up and found Kakashi talking to two tied up missing nins and Blake looking just as bloody as they did.

"How come Kakashi doesn't have a speck of blood on him?" asked Naruto dumbfounded.

"I'm just that good." preened Kakashi as his bloodstained genins all sweat dropped. "Once we get semi cleaned up we'll be escorting our two new friends the Otafuku Gai where they can stay with the authorities."

"Are you sure we shouldn't eliminate them?" asked Naruto plainly. The two prisoners shivered.

Kakashi said, "These two are D-ranked in the bingo books. Given they are just runaway genins I think we can forgive them."

The three genins of Team 7 nodded. "Let's wash up and head to Otafuku Gai." said Pyrrha. "We're all filthy."

….

 **Northern Fire Country**

While Team 7 was escorting their two prisoners back to Otafuku Gai; Team 8 and their clients ran out of luck. A group of men rode over the ridge west of them on horseback. They had a banner much like one would expect from a Daimyo's samurai. It was red with a white image of crossed scythes on it. These were the self proclaimed _Reapers_ ….

"Can you see them clearly Hinata-chan?" asked Kurenai as she looked into the distance.

Hinata zoomed in with her byakugan and said. "It's the Reapers we've heard about. There are twenty two of them and they are armed and armored as samurai. I have no doubt they are trained ronins. Their formation is in a perfect line ahead….Most are pulling longbows! _Everyone needs to take cover!_ "

About twenty arrows were unleashed and hit at the front of the caravan where Kiba was. He heard Hinata's ' _take cover_ ' and tackled the lead driver Nobuyuki back inside the front cart to shield him. The cart was peppered with arrows and Kiba was hit in the shoulder. The old man was unharmed though. Kiba winced and said, "Are you alright Jiji?"

Nobuyuki's normally squinted eyes were wide open now. "Never mind me boy! What about you?!"

Kiba growled, "My team will patch me up. The battle has just started." Kiba made the hand signs to turn Akamaru into his twin with his man-beast clone. "Cut off the rear end of the arrow and pull it through Akamaru!" said the dog user. "Jiji, can you bandage me up? There is a lot of work to do."

….

Outside, Shino unleashed a massive swarm of insects in a black cloud that rushed towards the front of the Reaper's line. Hinata pulled her Gemini swords and formed them into a bow. Channeling chakra into the seals on the hand grip; three arrows appeared with flaming tips. "I hate to hurt animals but…." She unleashed the three flaming streaks into the leading horse and rider. Both of the targets were traveling at high speed and went down violently rolling end over end. The ronin behind them were caught off guard when their vanguard fell and a good third of them crashed into one another as they piled up trying to avoid each other.

Kurenai cast a wide area genjustu of a massive return fire of arrows the horsemen tried to desperately avoid. Shino's kikaichū beetles swarmed among the men and horses into their eyes causing the group to break out into a panic.

Seconds later a bandaged Kiba was amongst them in a violent fang over fang jutsu that caused a great deal of damage and knocked the remaining riders from their horses. The Reapers were disoriented and half their number was already down. Kurenai slipped among the confused brigands and started slitting their throats.

Hinata stayed with the caravan and picked off the confused stragglers with her arrows. ' _Cinder's aim was always superb but combined with Hinata's byakugan I can be even more lethal_.' thought Hinata to herself as she carefully shot down another Reaper with deadly precision.

By the time the remaining Reapers regrouped a mere eight of them were left standing and were being harried by kikaichū beetles. Their horses had scattered to the four winds in fear and their remaining comrades were either dead or unconscious.

Kurenai saw Kiba's bandage and was concerned but Kiba signaled he was all right. Kurenai signaled Kiba to hold his position. ' _He's already done a fang over fang wounded. There's no need to further aggravate his injuries_.' Kurenai threw a kunai with an exploding tag into the middle of the remaining Reapers. They avoided the kunai easily enough but it was too late to avoid the explosion. Though they were wearing armor, the brigands couldn't survive being at point blank from the detonation.

….

A bit later; Hinata was patching up Kiba properly after the fight. "You are very lucky this was just a flesh wound Kiba-kun. When we get to the Rice Country border we need a medic nin to have a look at this. I've cleaned it well but we can't risk an infection." She gave him a blood pill and said, "Take this and ride with Nobuyuki-san the rest of the way."

Shino was reporting to Kurenai. "Seventeen of the _Reapers_ are dead and the remaining five are badly injured. Should we bring them with us or abandon them?"

Kurenai answered, "I'll talk to Nobuyuki-san. If we can; we'll load the injured onto the flatbed cart and haul them in under arrest. The seventeen bodies we'll seal in some scrolls to collect the bounties later. "These Reapers had big prices on their heads according to the bingo books. What about the horses?"

"The men of the caravan collected up nine of them." said Shino. "The remainder fled or died of injuries."

"Shame about the animals." thought Kurenai aloud. "Once we get everything secured I'll talk to Nobuyuki-san and we'll get back underway."

….

 _Both Team 7 and Team 8 had earned their pay that day_ ….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

**This is the same as the metal twin swords/bow combo Cinder Fall used before she became the Fall Maiden.

***Cinder's weapons haven't been named to my knowledge so I'm calling them the Gemini ("Twin") Blades for now. If the actual name is revealed I'll come back and edit it.

Well, this turned out to be an extra long chapter. Team 8's battle originally wasn't going to be until next chapter but it works better this way. It seems that there is no rest for the wicked. Team 7 still has more bandits to get rid of up north and Team 8 still has to escort a caravan the rest of the way to the Rice Country border. Sakura has made it back to her beloved _Sasuke-kun_ only to find him getting his ass kicked by Guren. On top of that she seems more unstable than ever. Next chapter we'll see the return of the Malachite twins and everybody's favorite Snake Mistress Anko. See you next time. Blue out. 11/25/16


	19. Chapter 19

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay, I'm going to try something a little different. I've realized that hopping from story to story rapidly is making fluidity a bit difficult since I have so _many_ stories now. I'm thinking I will work two or three chapters out of each story before switching gears to another fic. I did that with _Dragon's Maw_ and I liked the results so I'm going to continue that trend here. Unfortunately that means some of the stories that _really_ need to be updated (Like _Curse of the Ryugan_ , _Magik_ , _Trapped Under Ice_ , etc.) are going to be pushed back a little further. Let's see how this goes. Here is chapter 19 of _Tornado of Souls_. Enjoy!

Quote: _"So my roommate Blake was coughing up hairballs all night; we thought it was a **cat** -tastrophe! But now she's **feline** much better!" Yang Xiao Long doing her horrible standup comedy act, RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 _….Hinata was patching up Kiba properly after the fight. "You are very lucky this was just a flesh wound Kiba-kun. When we get to the Rice Country border we need a medic nin to have a look at this. I've cleaned it well but we can't risk an infection." She gave him a blood pill and said, "Take this and ride with Nobuyuki-san the rest of the way."_

 _Shino was reporting to Kurenai. "Seventeen of the Reapers are dead and the remaining five are badly injured. Should we bring them with us or abandon them?"_

 _Kurenai answered, "I'll talk to Nobuyuki-san. If we can; we'll load the injured onto the flatbed cart and haul them in under arrest. The seventeen bodies we'll seal in some scrolls to collect the bounties later. These Reapers had big prices on their heads according to the bingo books. What about the horses?"_

 _"The men of the caravan collected up nine of them." said Shino. "The remainder fled or died of injuries."_

 _"Shame about the animals." thought Kurenai aloud. "Once we get everything secured I'll talk to Nobuyuki-san and we'll get back underway."_

 _…._

Chapter 19

 **Fire Country, Otafuku Gai**

Team 7 was relaxing at the Mitsubachi Inn. The adrenalin rush from earlier that day had worn off and they were worn out. After the grisly task of collecting the heads of the missing nins they'd killed the group went to the Bounty Station in Otafuku Gai and turned in their prisoners. They also collected the bounties on their targets. Kakashi questioned the two runaway Rain genins and as Team 7 suspected they had nothing to do with the bandit raids to the north. Once the situation was explained, the authorities at Otafuku Gai quickly dispatched teams of laborers to recover the stolen goods from the boathouse on Kurai Lake. After that Kakashi took his tired team to the inn to rest and recover.

The Mitsubachi Inn had a restaurant attached to it and Kakashi found himself very amused at the rate his team was eating. They were all starving. The silver haired jonin said, "You three are acting like you've been on a religious fast for a month. Slow down and enjoy the food."

Blake looked up from her third helping of sushi and said, "Considering that we did most of the work it's no wonder we're starving Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto was eating oden with Pyrrha. He said between bites, "We traipsed all over Fire Country before we came here to eat. It _was_ like a religious fast. We're ninjas, not monks!"

Pyrrha refilled her dish and said politely, "I'm forced to agree with Naruto-kun and Blake-chan. We should have eaten hours ago."

Kakashi swiped some of Blake's sushi which made her growl at him. He said with a double eye smile, "You guys were all filthy dirty. I was tempted to eat but given I was the only one presentable it would have been bad manners to eat inside while you all starved outside."

"You could have brought some takeout food to us, _sensei!_ " growled all three genins as one.

"You know, that's an excellent idea kids." said Kakashi thoughtfully. "Shame I didn't think about it hours ago."

The three genins sweat dropped and Pyrrha said, "You are incorrigible sensei."

"Why thank you Pyrrha-chan." said Kakashi brightly. "I do try." Pyrrha just face palmed and went back to her meal….

….

 **Northern Fire Country**

Team 8 and Nobuyuki's Caravan were making good time though the sun was starting to set. The old man chuckled at the bored looking Kiba who was riding with him. "Kiba; I thought you kids were all talk but since you took out the _Reapers_ I feel like I can relax and actually _enjoy_ this trip."

Kiba looked a bit nonplussed. "Well Nobuyuki Jiji, there's still three days before we make it to our destination. We can't afford to drop our guards." ' _Damn I wish I could be up running around with Akamaru. I'm going stir crazy. Hinata-chan and Kurenai-sensei are really being strict with me over this shoulder injury_.' the Inuzuka boy pouted mentally.

Nobuyuki smiled and said, "You'll be up and around before you know it Kiba. The ladies are mother-henning you just because they care. My wife does the same thing to me when I'm sick or hurt. Just sit back and take it easy."

"I wish it _was_ that easy." grumped Kiba. "Kurenai-sensei might as well have eyes in the back of her head and Hinata-chan basically _does_."

"At least they're both quite easy on the eyes." said the old man as he waggled his shaggy eyebrows.

Kiba sweat dropped. "Hinata-chan is like a sister to me and Kurenai is my sensei….For all that matter they're both _way_ too young for you dirty old man!"

Nobuyuki's laughter carried across the caravan….

Kurenai radioed her students. "The sun is starting to set. We're going to break for camp soon so be on the lookout for an area that is easily defendable."

Hinata saw the orange in the sky as the sun set and thought of Naruto. ' _I wonder how Naruto-kun is doing_ ….' Activating her byakugan; the Hyūga heiress saw a hill beyond the next ridge they could camp at. "I see a hill about a half mile ahead of us Kurenai sensei." she said over the radio. "There is a large area of high ground that would be good to camp at."

Kurenai replied, "Excellent. Once we get there we'll set up some basic defenses and see about hunting down some dinner."

"Can Akamaru and I do the hunting?" asked Kiba hopefully over the radio.

" _NO KIBA!_ " replied Kurenai and Hinata in unison.

The dog ninja just pouted as he cried anime tears at the injustice of it all….

….

 **Otafuku Gai, Mitsubachi Inn**

Kakashi got two rooms for Team 7. One was for him and Naruto and the other for Blake and Pyrrha. Naruto was quite annoyed because Kakashi swept him into their room before the orange loving ninja could give his girlfriends a _proper_ goodnight consisting of a short make out session with each of them. ' _Damn it Kakashi sensei; I hardly even got to wave to them!_ ' he thought mutinously. Soon Kakashi and Naruto were lying in twin beds with a small table with a reading lamp between them. Kakashi was quietly giggling to himself as he was reading his _Icha Icha Paradise_ by lamp light. Naruto then turned the light out on his teacher and said, "Goodnight Kakashi-sensei!" in a tone far to chipper to be normal.

Kakashi sighed and put his book away in the dark. "You know I was at a particular juicy passage when you turned out the light Naruto."

"I can't sleep with your constant giggling sensei." retorted Naruto. "Go to sleep."

"….So which one of your teammates do you like the best Naruto?" asked Kakashi innocently. "I noticed you pay a _lot_ of attention to them….in more ways than one."

Naruto blushed red as a tomato in the darkness. "Shut up sensei! Go to sleep!" whispered the blonde loudly.

Kakashi giggled. "Oh I see….you can't make up your mind. Well my advice is-"

Naruto said in a strangled tone, "If you don't be quiet and go to sleep I will _burn_ your entire book collection when we get back to Konoha!"

"But Naruto-" started the silver haired jonin.

"Not. One. Word. Kakashi. Sensei." bit out Naruto as he buried his head in the pillow.

Kakashi smiled to himself and silently chuckled. ' _If I go ahead and tell him to always use protection Naruto will probably try to kill me in my sleep….It's almost worth the risk_ ….'

While Kakashi was terrorizing his only male student, his two female students were quietly conversing in the next room over. They too were in their beds with the light on in between them as they chatted. Blake's amber eyes were narrowed. "If I didn't know better I'd say Kakashi knows we are both in relationships with Naruto-kun. I wanted my kiss goodnight."

Pyrrha had her head propped up on her arm. "I know what you mean; Naruto-kun's good night kisses always make me feel warm inside." She pondered a moment. "But you are right about Kakashi-sensei. He's extremely intelligent so I could see him figuring us out. We're _always_ together off duty as well after all. Usually Hinata-chan is too."

"It's hard to believe Hinata-chan was our hated enemy in the past." said the cat eared girl. "Considering what happened between you and her; I believe you are the most forgiving person I have ever met Pyrrha-chan."

Pyrrha shook her head. "Hinata isn't Cinder but sometimes she says our does things that show she still has a dark side. It gives me the chills even though she is my friend now. Other times she is really fun. It's kind of strange now that I think about it."

"Our whole situation is strange generally speaking." said Blake. "I never would have predicted our souls travelling to another place after we died." Deciding they needed to sleep; the feline faunus clicked off the light and snuggled into her pillow. "Pleasant dreams Pyrrha-chan…."

"Good night Blake-chan." replied the redhead with a yawn.

The girls settled in for a much needed rest….

….

 **Konoha, Yamanaka Residence**

Ino was in her shower feeling the cascade of warm water as it ran down her body. The blonde had her blue eyes closed as she cupped her right breast with her left hand and her right hand made its way down between her legs. She moaned, "…. _Naruto-kun_ …." as she lost herself in her fantasy….

 _Naruto gently ran his hands all over Ino's body and she felt flushed from the intimate contact as he stroked her nether regions with his hand. Ino gasped at the sensations as her lover leaned in and kissed her passionately against the shower wall. His tongue entered her mouth and teased and caressed her own tongue into reciprocating every delicious sensation. She reached up and started running her hands over his chest and reveled in the feeling of his smooth skin over rock hard muscle. As the blonde kunoichi reached up around his neck their kiss deepened and she could feel his manhood rubbing heatedly up against her._

 _The blonde kunoichi gasped as Naruto's hand stroking her nether regions increased the pace and pushed her over the edge. She moaned erotically into his mouth as he withdrew his fingers making her whimper. She stared into his eyes and said, "I want you now Naruto-kun…."_

 _The steam rising in the shower and the cascade of flowing water had them both perspiring and Ino licked the sweat off of his neck and ran her tongue up his jaw line. She wanted to taste her lover and found herself caressing him with her tongue as a cat would lick up cream. She smiled hungrily as his erection grew harder against her and Ino reached down to gently grip his shaft. Naruto hissed her name as she stroked him until he was standing rock hard._

 _Naruto leaned the Yamanaka heiress back against the shower wall and gripped her hips. She looked down excitedly as she used her small hand the guide her paramour into her womanhood. She gasped at the sensations of being stretched so much and Naruto slowly started moving up and down within her in slow strokes. Her breasts were rubbing against his chest with a tantalizing amount of friction. Ino was moaning in time with his thrusts as Naruto penetrated deeper and deeper into her wanting body…._

 _Ino whispered, "Faster Naruto-kun; I want it all…." Naruto quickly cupped her rear and lifted Ino up with his strong arms. Ino quickly put her arms back around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. They were both panting now as they kissed each other wantonly in between thrusts. Ino's eyes widened with passion and her breath quickened as she was driven closer and closer to the edge. She was gasping for more air and the heat had her soul afire. Finally her body exploded into pure ecstasy as she screamed her lover's name at the top of her lungs_ ….

Ino opened her eyes and felt the juice running down her shaky legs and onto her right hand. The blood was rushing through her causing her body to shiver and the blonde kunoichi slowly slid down the shower wall behind her into a squatting position. The water from the shower splashed around Ino and soothed her as she steadied herself and her heart started slowing down finally. She whispered, " _Naruto-kun_ …. _I wish you were here_ …."

….

 **Northern Fire Country**

Hinata relieved her teammate Shino for sentry duty at 3 AM. An insect landed on his finger and Shino said quietly, "My allies and I haven't spotted any movement at all in the last three hours Hinata-chan. I believe your shift should be equally as peaceful."

"Let's hope so." said Hinata. "Get some sleep Shino-kun." Shino half waved and tiredly went to the tent he shared with Kiba. Hinata looked up at the stars and thought of her Father Hiashi. ' _I hope to see to see you soon Father, Hoheto-san informed me that you were injured but that you are well now. I'm sure there is a story behind it but I didn't tell Hanabi-chan because it would have worried her greatly. This war isn't completely over until you and all of the Konoha shinobis come home safe and in one piece. I know there have been losses but we of the Hy_ _ūga Clan have been blessed with no serious casualties_.' Her byakugan eyes turned to flame and she smiled rather viciously in the darkness. ' _I can't wait to roast the Hy_ _ūga Elders. That omiai they arranged for me is going to land them in the bowels of hell_.'

As her shift on sentry duty went by, Hinata was very alert of her surroundings but her thoughts were drifting. ' _I wonder how Hanabi-chan is doing_.' wondered Hinata. The Hyūga Heiress worried that the Elders might do something stupid in her absence but concluded that her concern was unwarranted. ' _She's probably fast asleep in bed with Genma; her stuffed panda_.' Hinata could see Hanabi snuggled up in cutely bed in her mind's eye and smiled.

Hinata's thoughts then drifted to Naruto and all the X-rated things she could be doing with him about now. Fighting back a slight nosebleed Hinata looked up at the crescent moon and thought, ' _What are you up to right now Naruto-kun? Maybe you're playing an epic prank. I can't wait to show you those pictures of the Elders in their bald glory_.' Hinata was chuckling daintily to herself when she saw one of Nobuyuki's men get up to use the nearby bushes….Then he tripped over another man's sleeping bag and fell on his face. He peed all over himself and his friend in the process. ' _Oh my gawd. What a klutz. I'll just pretend I didn't see that_.' she thought to herself.

The rest of the night went peacefully for the Byakugan Princess as she thought about her clan mates and friends and wondered if they were all sleeping well….

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

Early the next morning Kabuto was making his morning rounds and smelled blood and antiseptics wafting out of the showers. When he entered them found something strange. There was blood spattered on the mirror. Not masses of blood either. ' _The women were the last in here_ ….' It was as if someone was carefully doing surgery from the smell but Kabuto had no idea why. His immediate thought went towards his rather unstable apprentice Sakura but she didn't have enough mastery to be doing anything too advanced. ' _She just got back for all that matter_ ….' He had her studying skin grafting and surface healing techniques currently but unless she was practicing on herself Kabuto simply couldn't fathom what the hell Sakura was doing now. The Mystic palm jutsu was very limited after all. She also was learning Chakra scalpels.

 _'Could the girl have masochistic tendencies and is hiding it? Somehow it honestly wouldn't surprise me_ ….' thought the puzzled medic. That's when he found something else. "An eye?" he thought aloud. "What is part of an eye doing here?!" That's when Kabuto realized it was a part of a sheep's eye. He sighed. _'Sakura-chan and Karin-chan are the only ones that have access to my lab aside of Orochimaru-sama of course….I'll have to see if any of the eyes I have stored for experimentation have been taken_.'

Over the next couple of hours Kabuto carefully inventoried the supplies in his lab. He'd found out some things missing and decided that talking to Sakura directly would be the best choice of action. It turned out she was very interested in how the sharingan worked and had been studying animal eyes of her own accord. This was an immense relief to Kabuto. _'I thought she'd gone over the deep end_...' he thought dourly.

 _Flashback..._

 _"I'm terribly sorry Kabuto-sensei, I was studying a way to cut down the chakra cost for my sharingan and didn't ask permission to use your lab." said the pink haired girl shyly. "I was studying eyes and I was afraid you would think it was a waste of time."_

 _'It seems her more positive side is interested in medicine_ _.' thought Kabuto. "Sakura-chan, you are free to study whatever you wish. If you are curious then simply let me know. I'll be happy to guide you on your path. I am your sensei after all. If I didn't help you quench your thirst for knowledge then I wouldn't be much of a teacher would I?" Kabuto smiled soothingly and said, "I found blood in the showers by the way. You haven't cut yourself by accident have you? I know you are mastering the Chakra scalpel and Mystic palm but I don't want you hurting yourself."_

 _Sakura looked shocked. Her visible green eye was full of surprise. "I'd never cut myself sensei! I'm still learning how to heal fish you know." 'Of course, that wouldn't stop me from cutting others...' she thought darkly. "May I ask you something Kabuto-sensei?"_

 _"Of course Sakura-chan, what is it?" Kabuto asked his disciple._

 _"It occurred to me that a contact lens covering my sharingan might look a bit less obvious than this eye patch." said the rosette. "Would it be possible to make my sharingan appear to be my original green? I know they make contacts especially for the Hyūgas and I wondered if the Uchihas had something similar. It would be useful to hide my sharingan in plain sight you know. They could even be used by Sasuke-kun if you think about it."_

 _Kabuto looked thoughtful. "So you want to create a chakra conductive contact lens to turn your sharingan on and off?" Seeing Sakura nodding hopefully Kabuto said, "That's...quite brilliant Sakura-chan! Such a lens could hide **any** implanted doujutsu really. It would have to be made of the materials of an actual eye of course..."_

 _"That's why I was studying those sheep's eyes sensei." said Sakura._

 _Kabuto shook his head. "While it's admirable you've already taken these steps it would be best to clone a human eye."_

 _"What about my original eye that was removed to put Kakashi's sharingan in?" asked Sakura. "If we clone a few them couldn't we make these contacts from them? By making copies of the original user's eyes there would be no cellular rejection correct?"_

 _Flashback end._..

Since then Kabuto had been diligently teaching his apprentice in the medical arts relating to the eye. After explaining Sakura's rather brilliant idea for custom made chakra contact lenses to Orochimaru; the Snake Sanin was very impressed with young Sakura and gave them the go ahead. _'It seems that Sakura's erratic behavior is under control when she's doing medical work. Her intellect overrides her emotional instabilities. I wish she was the same way outside the lab. When she's with Sasuke her mood shifts actually seem worse_.'

...

Three days later Sakura was looking at the _second_ perfect green eye contact lens she'd just finished. _'And this is my first step towards freedom_...' thought her darker half. _'I need to start making more skin grafts as well. Good thing Sasuke-baka is too stupid to look closely at night. Of course, he's so into himself that he might as well fuck me while staring at a mirror. Gods I can't wait to leave him and go to Naruto-kun_.'

Sakura thought shrilly, _'Don't talk about Sasuke-kun that way you evil bitch. How dare you compare him with Naruto-baka!_ '

The darker half growled, ' _Are you kidding me Sakura?! Sasuke is a weak and spineless worm. Guren can play handball with him for all I care. Now Naruto-kun on the other hand_ ….'

' _Naruto-baka is worthless!_ ' shrieked Sakura. ' _If I was in control_ -'

' _But you're **not** in control anymore!_ ' Her darker half laughed. _'How does it **feel** Sakura- **chan**? What's it feel like to be locked up tight in a prison of your own making instead of controlling me? The curse seal is nearly absorbed and you'll die with it. You have **no idea** how much I'm going to enjoy that! If you still exist when I'm riding Naruto-kun I'll give you a front row seat!' "_ **Hahahaha!** " Sakura laughed out loud at her other half's squeals of anger.

"You seem excited Sakura-chan." said Kabuto as he walked into the lab.

Sakura beamed at him. "It's hard not to be Kabuto-sensei. Look at this lens! It's nearly perfect."

Kabuto looked over his apprentice's shoulder at her work. "Outstanding Sakura-chan!" he said. "We're getting closer by the day."

Looking over at Kabuto with a smile Sakura thought darkly, _'It would be so easy to cut that misshapen head of yours off of those stooped shoulders Kabuto- **sensei**. I've even found a suitable weapon….but you still have your uses to me for now_...'

...

 **Fire Country/Rice Country Border**

Early in the morning, Team 8 and Nobuyuki's caravan came rolling into the camp where many of the refugees from Rice Country were staying. Judging by the cheers they were very welcome. It was there that Kurenai saw her old academy friend Mitarashi Anko. "Nai-chan!" said the Snake Mistress with a wave. "You guys are right on time."

Kurenai smiled and said, "It's good to see you Anko. Can we get a medic? My genin Inuzuka Kiba took an arrow to the shoulder."

"How bad is it?" asked Anko.

The red eyed jonin smiled. "I think he'll be fine but we need an actual medic to look it over. It's just a flesh wound."

Anko nodded and signaled for a medic. "How long are you here?" asked the purple haired jonin.

"We're supposed to be here two days and then escort a caravan back to Konoha." said Kurenai. "I wasn't told why refugees are going to Konoha specifically though."

"It's not all refugees." said Morino Ibiki as he strode up. "Several former ninjas and kunoichis of Oto have submitted to join Konoha's forces. You'll also be travelling with several Konoha ninjas that are rotating home."

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "What do they need Team 8 for then?"

Ibiki answered, "Several are sick or injured and need more than a field hospital. You and you team can consider yourselves an insurance policy for the caravan."

"Got it." said Kurenai as she waved her team over.

….

An hour later the caravan was being unloaded and Hinata caught a glimpse of someone she wanted to see….her Father. After getting permission from Kurenai; Hinata went over to see Hiashi. "Father, it is good to see you." said Hinata with genuine happiness in her voice.

Hiashi blinked and said, "Hinata-chan!" as he engulfed her in a hug. He shed a tear. "I've missed you my baby girl."

Hinata pulled back and looked her Father over. "You must have had a rough time. I'm am glad to see you are safe and well."

The Hyūga Patriarch looked his daughter over and despite her revealing battle dress he said, "You look well Hinata-chan. I am glad to see you but what are you doing out here?"

"I am an active duty kunoichi Father." said Hinata with a warm smile. "Team 8 got an escort mission to bring a supply caravan up here. We are going to head back with a return caravan in two days so hopefully we will be able to spend some time together."

Hiashi smiled softly at his beautiful daughter and said. "We'll make time. I'm going home on that caravan." He hugged his daughter again and said, "I want to spend more time with both you and Hanabi-chan from now on…."

….

 **Otafuku Gai**

For three long days Kakashi and his genins had searched the roads high and low for a second set of bandits in the forests north of Otafuku Gai and found _absolutely nothing_. The caravans were moving again and there had been no attacks since Team 7's battle at Kurai Lake. Eventually Kakashi took his team back to the city. They were looking forward to heading back to Konoha but decided to check in with the authorities to see if any other sightings were reported. When they arrived in town there were all kinds of crazy rumors flying around about someone trying to assassinate the local Lord Tomi-sama who was a vassal directly to the Fire Daimyo. The samurai at the gates to Otafuku Gai immediately told Kakashi that Team 7 was summoned to Tomi-sama's residence to speak with him.

After travelling across town Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha were staring at the lavish mansion home that Tomi-sama had. Kakashi sweat dropped and said, "It seems that Tomi-sama has done pretty well for himself here in Otafuku Gai. I wasn't aware such an opulent home existed here."

"Opulent is a good word for it sensei." said Pyrrha as they looked at the three story pagoda like mansion. The decorations on the home glinted with gold and ivory trimmings in the afternoon sunlight and the guards there looked to be dressed in parade uniforms rather than combat ones.

Kakashi led them over to the wrought iron gate and said to the guards there, "I'm Hatake Kakashi and this is my team. We were summoned to appear before Tomi-sama."

The guard snapped a quick salute to Kakashi and said, "Tomi-sama is eagerly awaiting you." Then he looked at the genins. "Ummm….these are kids. Where is your team that slew those awful missing ninjas up at Kurai Lake?"

The silver haired jonin sweat dropped and his three genins glared. "These kids _are_ the team that wiped out those missing nins. My genins are quite formidable and I would appreciate it if you treat them with proper respect."

The guard fidgeted from a moment as the genins' glares started to get to him. "Ah, of course. I meant no disrespect. Please follow me and I'll announce you."

….

Kakashi and Team 7 were soon in the rather extravagant meeting chambers of Tomi-sama. After they all bowed appropriately to the Lord, Kakashi said, "Tomi-sama; we came as soon as we heard from the gate guards that you summoned us. How can we Konoha ninjas be of service to you?"

Naruto looked at the foppish 'Lord' in front of them and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ' _Lilly white hands that don't look like he's worked a day of his life. He probably spends more on manicures than I do for food and utilities each month_.'

The Lord was sweating nervously and said, "I am glad to see you have arrived Hatake-san. Your reputation precedes you and your team. The guilds of Otafuku Gai are ever so thankful that you handled that dreadful business up at Kurai Lake." Tomi-sama fanned himself and his eyes were looking around skittishly. "I'm not sure if you are aware of this but the last two nights an assassin has been after my person. I have sent notice to the esteemed Hokage but as your team is already here and obviously quite capable I would ask that you hunt for this man in the interim…."

Soon the aristocrat wove a fantastical tale of a superhuman assassin that was stalking his every move. It was painfully obvious that Tomi-sama was completely paranoid. Worst of all he wanted Kakashi within arm's length of him at all times. Kakashi sweat dropped and realized this was a real mess. He turned to his team and said, "It appears that I'm going to be on guard duty along with a couple of shadow clones. I'm counting on you three to conduct an investigation and carry out patrols during the night. I will get a message out to the Hokage and see what he wants us to do." Then he whispered so only genins could hear. "Our biggest obstacle in this case may be the client himself. Be careful and work as a team while I babysit."

Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha travelled the mansion under the direction of a bunch of paranoid guards to investigate the way the assassin broke in the two previous nights. "These guys are as likely to attack us or each other if they are this high strung." said Naruto to the girls. It was obvious the orange loving ninja was less than impressed.

Pyrrha nodded. "I agree Naruto-kun. We will need to practice caution when we are patrolling after dark tonight."

Soon they were on the roof where a hatch was broken into. "So he hopped from the stone wall over to that statue and onto the roof ledge." said Blake as she looked at the probable path. "Then he picked the lock and made his way in."

"It's easy enough." said Naruto in agreement. "You could make those leaps just with parkour; chakra wouldn't even be necessary."

Pyrrha walked over to the edge of the roof and said. "The person landed here. There is a smudge here left by a footprint."

One of the guards said, "Another one of those blasted things? We've had the cleaning crews working on getting rid of them all day."

All three genins resisted the urge to smack the man senseless. "That was _evidence_ of the criminal's probable path. You've been _erasing_ information that would help us stop this person."

"Well, be that as it may; Tomi-sama's house must be spotless." said the guard.

"Kill me now." muttered Naruto under his breath. The rest of the investigation proved equally fruitless. Any damage done to the mansion was considered vandalism and an affront to Tomi-sama so it was repaired or cleaned up as soon as humanly possible.,,,

….

"The security around here is deficient at best and criminally negligent at worst." reported Pyrrha to Kakashi that evening. "The guards were chosen for their looks and parade abilities rather than their fighting skills. Appearance is _everything_ to these people. They are all afraid of their own shadows. Even worse-"

"There's actually a worse?" asked Kakashi dourly.

Blake said, "Yes, there is a worse. A non-ninja could easily infiltrate this place using parkour skills and the most basic of lock picks. There are so many holes in the security that only a complete idiot would get caught. Talking to the guards they basically broke into a disorganized panic when the alarms went off. From what evidence there is left after repairs were made it seems there is indication of a sword user as well as a gun. The gunshot noises paralyzed almost everyone in the mansion in fear. They all thought it was explosives."

Kakashi was face palming by this point. "Is there anything else to add to this damning report?"

Naruto nodded. "We have no idea how Tomi-sama hasn't been killed till now. He's been skimming off most of the guilds in Otafuku Gai to ignore their indiscretions. Half the town probably would rather see him dead than alive. After his Father died he inherited the title and has been lining his pockets ever since then."

"We're protecting a crooked aristocrat that is doing everything in his power to get himself killed." summed up Blake nicely.

Kakashi just sweat dropped….

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

The armory at Orochimaru's new base was not particularly well defended yet. Only two chunin level ninjas were on guard there. They hadn't noticed something very important in Orochimaru's special collection was missing….Of course; how could they? They'd been under a genjutsu the whole time the item in question was being taken….

….

 **Shower Room**

Karin and Sakura were both taking a shower after watching Sasuke get clobbered by Guren. Guren had finished her shower and advised the two younger kunoichis to start working harder and getting stronger if they wanted to survive in this world. " _You two may think you're in fantasy land with your Sasuke- **kun** but I have news for you. You aren't princesses and he sure as hell isn't a prince. Sasuke can't protect you from everything and I doubt he will bother to. Take my advice and start working harder or you may end up in trouble you can't get out of_." Karin had protested loudly that Sasuke would keep them safe but Sakura just glared at the floor in silence. After that the two girls got back to showering.

The redhead said, "I can't believe that Guren said those awful things. Sasuke-kun takes good care of us right Sakura-chan?"

Sakura said, "I think Guren wants us stronger for our own sake Karin-chan. I don't think Sasuke-kun can always be there. He'll have missions after all. It can't hurt to get stronger. That's why I've been working out more."

Karin grinned and said, "You've been getting a lot more curvy and athletic looking Sakura-chan; I wondered why. I'm a bit jealous. Come to think of it your skin has gotten paler too."

The pinkette thought, ' _Are the changes happening that fast? That idiot Sasuke wouldn't notice if I turned bright green but Karin is very observant_.' "I guess all of the exercise has been shaping me up. I've been really busy. Maybe I've gotten paler because of not getting enough sun."

Karin shrugged, "Your skin is turning a nice ivory. I think it's pretty so I'm sure Sasuke-kun will like it too."

Sakura turned away to hide the fact she was rolling her eyes. "Yes, I'm hoping so."

"Once your face turns ivory like the rest of your body I'm sure you'll look great." said Karin. Sakura hid her grimace. The redhead asked shyly, "By the way….I hope you don't mind me asking but why are you shaving _down there?_ "

"Ehehehe…." said Sakura nervously. "Ummm….I think Sasuke-kun likes me trimmed."

"Maybe I'll do it too then!" said Karin with a squeal. "I never thought Sasuke-kun would like his girls shaved but you _have_ known him longer."

' _I can't believe I'm having a discussion about pubic hair with this girl_.' thought the rosette angrily. ' _At least I was able to throw Karin off the trail_ ….'

….

 **Otafuku Gai, Tori-sama's Mansion**

It was two in the morning and Naruto was sitting behind a screen with the lights out on the second level of the pagoda. Blake was above him on the roof of the third floor and Pyrrha was concealed on the ground floor. The guards on night watch were all basically shaking in their highly polished boots and were jumping at the slightest noise. The three genins were trying to keep from getting distracted by the noises the jumpy guards were making so they could focus on _real_ threats. Naruto suddenly heard a gunshot and a scream outside and launched silently out into the darkness on the roof of the second floor.

The crescent moon wasn't providing much light that night so Naruto was relying as much on his ears and instincts as his his eyes. He heard a groaning noise from the front of the mansion and a sound like metal giving way. Then there was a lot of yelling and the guards started abandoning their posts to see what was going on. ' _Amateurs. They left the place wide open_.' thought the blonde ninja.

Pyrrha suddenly radioed, "There's a break in at the front gates. Multiple people. The guards are mobbing them. I'm monitoring the situation. I don't think it's connected to our target so stay alert."

Naruto hopped down to the ground and sniffed around for a scent of blood in case someone had been shot. He heard Blake on the radio say, "Naruto, above you!"

The orange loving ninja saw a man with a blade roof hop up to the second floor where he'd been moments ago. "I'm after him Blake!" said Naruto into his mouthpiece.

"More targets at the south wall!" said Blake. "I'm moving to intercept!" She quickly roof hopped down to the outer wall where a group of seven was climbing a ladder to breach the wall.

They looked up and saw Blake land silently on the wall above them. She was silhouetted by the moonlight and after they admired her shapely curves they saw her Gambol Shroud drawn, her blazing amber eyes and cat ears on top of her head. Then man with his head sticking up above the wall said, "N-nice kitty…?" That was just before Blake kicked him in the face and sent him tumbling back along with the ladder on top of the others. Seeing she had the momentum going her way the feline faunus girl leaped down into the disorganized crowd to kick their collective asses….

….

Naruto hopped up on the roof after the (apparent) ninja and the man pointed his sword at Naruto before firing off a round at the blonde. Naruto was grazed at the temple but managed to get a Gale palm jutsu off that blew the man though the wall and into the room behind him. Naruto crashed in after the man and his strange weapon. In the low light the ninja used his sword to try to cut Naruto down but the orange loving blonde kept deflecting the strikes with his kunai. Naruto took a shallow cut across his chest but his chainmail protected him from too much damage. Then the man fired his weapon which greatly increased its cutting power. Luckily for Naruto he'd already slid backwards and avoided further damage.

The man tried to go in for an overhead slash only for Naruto to kick him down the stairs with a brutal wind chakra covered foot. After a loud crash and the sounds of things breaking Naruto heard only stillness and carefully went down the steps in silence….

….

Tomi-sama woke up in a pool of sweat from the crashing noises of Naruto's battle above him. The aristocrat saw Kakashi in the low light and panicked. He started yelling "Stay away!" in a girlish shriek and threw his pillows at the jonin before Kakashi yelled at him to calm down.

"It's Hatake Kakashi! I'm guarding you; remember Tomi-sama?!" said the silver haired jonin.

Tomi immediately broke down into tears and practically tackled Kakashi in a full man-hug. "T-thank god you're here!" sobbed the nobleman.

' _I am truly in hell_...' thought Kakashi with a sweat drop.

...

Pyrrha was at the front doors to the mansion when the last of the hapless guards were beaten unconscious. ' _To be honest these people look like regular citizens instead of assassins…._ ' she thought to herself. Pyrrha said in a clear voice, "Please turn back. I am a Konoha ninja and am much more formidable than the guards you just waylaid."

The crowd could see her figure in the moonlight and one of them said, "We don't want to hurt you girl; we just want Tomi-sama. He's done enough damage to this town."

About that time there was an explosion on the second floor where Naruto had been and Pyrrha saw the townspeople were going to be riddled with shrapnel. Acting on instinct the redhead leapt down in front of the mob, turned around to face to incoming missiles and held out her shield to focus her magnet release. The debris stopped within a few feet of killing many before it all fell to the ground like rain. The crowd was in awe as she sank into the kneeling position from exertion. Pyrrha was breathing heavily and said, "Please go home. I never saw any of your faces in the dark."

"Kunoichi-san, are you….okay?" asked one of the townspeople.

"I will be fine." said Pyrrha as she stood up slowly.

Blake landed by Pyrrha a second later and asked, "Are you hurt Pyrrha-chan? These people…?"

"They are just bystanders that are leaving." said Pyrrha. After many of them thanked Pyrrha; the crowd quickly dispersed leaving the beaten guards lying about by the gates….

….

The magnetic pulse from Pyrrha had knocked out Kakashi's radio but he managed to get Tomi-sama to the relative safety of the back yard with a body flicker. The servants were quickly evacuating through the ground floor as the upper two floors burned from the explosion. The group soon gathered around the front of the burning mansion and started taking a headcount in the firelight. Kakashi found Blake and the exhausted Pyrrha and asked them where Naruto was….

...

Inside the ground floor the ninja that had been dueling with Naruto was hobbling out the back of the building as quickly as he could. The demolition charge went off prematurely and he had to get out _now_. The ninja kept firing his weapon behind him in an attempt to hit Naruto but kept hitting shadow clones. As he cleared the burning building a wind enhanced kunai shot straight into his back and out through his heart.

Naruto came running out of the doomed building a second later with his sleeve on fire. The blonde immediately started rolling in the yard to put out the flames and came to a stop by the dying ninja. The man held out his odd handled weapon to Naruto and coughed out, "Take it….spoils of war…." Naruto picked up the odd sword and seconds later the unknown ninja coughed up a gout of blood and died in silence….

….

By morning the Samurai that policed the city had moved everyone clear and Tomi-sama's mansion had burned completely to the ground. It was nothing but embers now. The beat up (but well dressed) guards were at the hospital and all of the servants were accounted for. By some miracle; aside of the unidentified ninja that Naruto killed no one was too badly injured. Blake was standing over Naruto and Pyrrha after she checked the body of the dead ninja. She dropped a large sheath with a strap on it at Naruto's feet. The blonde looked up and Blake said, "It's the sheath for your new gunblade** Naruto-kun."

"Is that what this thing is called?" asked Naruto. "It has the name _Shear Trigger_ engraved on the blade."

"That's a good name." said Blake smiling. "I don't know how it got here but those were really popular for Huntsmen and Huntresses back in Menagerie where I grew up in Remnant."

"I've seen them too and I'm sure Kakashi-sensei has." said Pyrrha. "I think if we all put our heads together you can learn how to use it Naruto-kun."

"I'll bet Tenten will _love_ to have a look at this." said Blake.

' _I wonder where this came from?_ ' wondered Naruto.

He strapped on the Shear Trigger and Team 7 joined Kakashi as he talked to the samurai keeping the peace….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

**This Gunblade looks like Squall Leonhart's in Final Fantasy VIII called _Shear Trigger_. Its capabilities will be revealed as time progresses. Currently it is of unknown origins.

Well, Naruto now has a Remnant type weapon. Truthfully with his Typhoon release that is slowly manifesting Naruto doesn't really need it. I'm not in love with it and I don't know how much Naruto will use it but since people wouldn't leave me alone about it, **_now_** he has one. Subject closed.

Team 7 is wrapping up their mission and the crybaby Tomi-sama is living outdoors. Team 8 is halfway through their mission which will continue next chapter. Sakura's darker half is up to _something_ and Ino is….busy. Next chapter we'll catch up with Tayuya and the Malachite twins as well as Anko. I originally wanted to do that this chapter but it was already running awfully long. See you next time. Blue out. 12/2/16


	20. Chapter 20

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay! This chapter is more plot and character driven than anything so not as much action. I'm going to switch gears once I finish this chapter to update another story for a few chapters, probably _Magik_. I think going with this two to three chapter updates is much easier to do and improves the story so I'm going to stick with it for now. Here is chapter 20. Enjoy!

Quote: _"Okay, you're just a rude little brat. I'm going to kill you." Blake (the Big Bad Wolf) to Ruby (Little Red Riding Hood) in Team RWBY's rendition of 'Little Red Riding Hood.' -RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

…. _By some miracle; aside of the unidentified ninja that Naruto killed no one was too badly injured. Blake was standing over Naruto and Pyrrha after she checked the body of the dead ninja. She dropped a large sheath with a strap on it at Naruto's feet. The blonde looked up and Blake said, "It's the sheath for your new gunblade Naruto-kun."_

 _"Is that what this thing is called?" asked Naruto. "It has the name_ _Shear Trigger_ _engraved on the blade."_

 _"That's a good name." said Blake smiling. "I don't know how it got here but those were really popular for Huntsmen and Huntresses back in Menagerie where I grew up in Remnant."_

 _"I've seen them too and I'm sure Kakashi-sensei has." said Pyrrha. "I think if we all put our heads together you can learn how to use it Naruto-kun."_

 _"I'll bet Tenten will_ _love_ _to have a look at this." said Blake._

' _I wonder where this came from?_ ' _wondered Naruto._

 _He strapped on the Shear Trigger and Team 7 joined Kakashi as he talked to the samurai keeping the peace_ ….

Chapter 20

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

While Team 7 was helping with the cleanup in Otafuku Gai; Team 9 was waiting at the Konoha Hospital for news. Tsunade had slowly but surely overcome her fear of blood and agreed to do the back surgery necessary to heal Rock Lee. The surgery wasn't without risks but Lee felt it was worth it to become a ninja once again. The procedure took nearly four hours and Gai, Tenten and Neji were all sitting in the waiting room. Tenten said nervously, "Gai-sensei; what will Lee do if…?"

Gai said in a voice full of confidence and determination, "Lee-kun _is_ going to pull through this trail and rise like a phoenix from the ashes! Tenten-chan; Tsunade-sama, _your idol_ , is the greatest medic in the Elemental Countries. If she says there is even a one percent chance she can pull it off then I'll bet on that one percent in a heartbeat! Make no mistake Tenten-chan; have faith!"

Tenten nodded and Neji said, "It is in fate's hands but just this once I'm praying that fate will be kind to Lee. I never realized what a good teammate he has been until he was gone."

"Neji-kun, I am proud of you." said the Green Beast. "Your prayers are showing that you truly care for Lee-kun. On his behalf I thank you."

About that time an exhausted looking Shizune came out of the operating ward and said, "Tsunade-sama will be out soon. We're just doing some last minute checks on Lee."

Gai stood up and asked, "How is Lee-kun? How is my precious student?!"

Shizune gave a smile and said, "Lee is going to be good as new. Tsunade-sama did a wonderful job."

Gai burst into tears of joy and said, "Lee-kun, my disciple; I _knew_ you would pull through this. Your _Flames of Youth_ burn like the heart of the sun!"

Tenten likewise was shedding tears of happiness. She said in relief, "Lee-kun, you're going to be okay! Thank the Gods." She hugged Gai and said, "Everything is going to be normal again sensei."

Neji surprised everyone when he too burst into tears of relief. "Lee is coming back. Finally we'll be rid of Sai and I won't have to hear the word ' _dickless_ ' ever again!"

The bun haired girl's eyes turned to pure fire as she smacked Neji and made him face plant on the table. " ** _You prayed for Lee just to get rid of Sai?!_** "

"Ummm….Yes?" said Neji unsteadily as his female teammate closed for the kill….

As Tenten strangled Neji in the background; Gai wiped a tear from his eye and he said happily, "When can we see Lee-kun, Shizune?"

"Once Tsunade-sama wakes him up she wants you and your team in there so she can explain the proper exercises for Lee to do while his back fully heals." said the dark haired medic. "You will be expected to follow Tsunade-sama's rules **_to the letter_** and see to it that Lee doesn't go overboard training and fully recovers."

Gai nodded rapidly and said, "We will temper Lee's _Flames of Youth_ so he doesn't reinjure himself Shizune….And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know Tsunade-sama didn't perform the surgery alone."

Shizune chuckled, "You are very welcome Gai. I didn't do much but I am happy I was able to help." she said modestly.

Tsunade came out and said to Shizune, "Lee is awake now." Seeing that Neji was foaming at the mouth from Tenten's brutal chokehold; Tsunade said, "Gai, stop your students from killing each other and come on back…. ** _quietly_**. There is much to discuss…."

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

Sakura was smiling darkly as she looked in the mirror. Her emerald green contact lens over her sharingan eye looked perfectly matched to her other eye. Of course, why wouldn't it? She had contacts in _both_ eyes that were cloned from her original eye tissue. The pink haired kunoichi carefully checked her hair. After making sure her bangs were tucked back and makeup applied around the edges of her face she said sweetly to the mirror, "I'm Haruno Sakura and I _loooove_ my _Sasuke-kun!_ Being his wife is _the best thing ever!_ " Her voice took a different tone entirely and she said, "Right. That obnoxious vibe makes my skin crawl. I'm actually _ashamed_ I can do it so well." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Holding up a hand mirror to look at the back of her head she carefully check her hairline at the nape of her neck. ' _Damn it. My hair is growing out too fast. It's getting uncomfortable_.' She carefully applied a bit of makeup there as well. _'I've come this far and I can't afford to slip up now. At least the ink that looks like the curse seal is fairly permanent. It's been on there for a week and hasn't faded a bit_.' She heard a knock on her door and said, "Who is it?" in a girly tone.

"It's Karin-chan." said the redhead from outside to door. "Have you tried on your new contact lens?"

"Hang on and I'll let you in." said Sakura. ' _If I can slip this past Karin I can fool anybody_ ….' Sakura opened the door and smiled showing her emerald green eyes. "What do you think Karin-chan? Does my right eye match my left?"

Karin looked closely and said, "It's perfect Sakura-chan! Activate your sharingan behind the lens and I'll try to see if there's a difference."

"Right." said Sakura. "….It's active. Can you see anything different?"

The redhead said, "I don't _see_ anything but the chakra….it _feels_ different."

Sakura was sweating a bit. "What do you mean Karin-chan?"

"How do I put it…?" mused Karin aloud. "When you got that eye put in it was almost as if I could sense your chakra and the chakra of the active eye as two different things. Now it feels like it's all you."

"I wonder if that's a side effect of the contact lens." said Sakura. "Maybe it masks the sharingan's presence somehow because it's made of my own cells?"

"It's possible." agreed the sensor. "I haven't sensed your sharingan active very often since you got it put in. There is a lot of new territory here after all. I know Kabuto-sensei will be very curious but if _I_ can't detect it then there aren't too many sensors that can. I'd say the contact lens experiment is a success."

"Excellent!" said Sakura. "I'm very happy. That eye patch was encumbering and obvious anyway."

Karin giggled. "Are you sure you didn't just want to look prettier for _Sasuke-kun?_ "

The rosette cringed inside. "Hahaha! Well that was part of it Karin-chan." Both girls laughed and Sakura thought darkly, ' _I'd sooner hang myself than bear that Uchiha's child_ ….'

….

 **Fire Country/Rice Country Border**

Team 8 was relaxing in one of the larger tents at the refugee camp. Kiba was getting his shirt back on after the medical staff took care of his shoulder injury. The dog ninja came bounding over to his sensei and teammates. "I'm all fixed up guys!" he said happily. "The medic said you did a great job with that field dressing Hinata-chan; thank for helping me."

Hinata smiled. "I'm just glad the injury wasn't worse Kiba-kun. Are you _really_ fully healed or do you have restrictions?"

"Eh, the doctor said I shouldn't be using high level jutsus but I can do everything else normally." said Kiba with a shrug.

" _I'll_ go talk to the doctor and make sure." said Kurenai. "We can't have you hurting yourself because you are too eager."

Kiba sweat dropped at his sensei's comment. That was when he heard a familiar voice. "I heard you got yourself shot runt. How are you now?" asked his sister Hana.

Kiba grinned. "Hana nee-chan! It's great to see you." The two siblings embraced in a hug. "I've been worried about you and Kaa-san. Is she here?" Then he asked in a smaller voice, "Are you two coming home soon?"

Hana ruffled her little brother's hair. "Kaa-san is still in Rice Country Territory runt. I'm stationed here but veterinarians are in short supply and I've been working day in and day out taking care of all the animals from the caravans and stuff. It's going to be awhile before I can come home." Hana turned to Kurenai who just came back from talking to the doctor. "What's the doc got to say about my little brother Kurenai-chan?"

Kurenai smiled. "The doctor said no heavy sparring or jutsus but aside of that he's got a clean bill of health. It's good to see you well Hana-chan."

"Well, if the runt is okay I'm going to borrow him and Akamaru to help take care of the animals." said Hana. "It will keep him out of trouble unless you need him."

The red eyed jonin looked at Kiba and said, "Catch up with your sister. The team will meet at six for some dinner."

Kiba nodded and Akamaru barked happily. "Okay sensei; I'll see all of you at six." He then scampered off after Hana.

Kurenai chuckled. "Kiba's been worried sick about Hana and Tsume. This will do him and Akamaru some good."

….

Shino had gone to talk with his Aburame clan mates leaving Hinata and Kurenai sitting and watching the caravans unloading more food and supplies. That's when Anko showed up and said, "Hey Nai-chan; I've brought someone to meet you. They're in the same situation as Hinata-chan and Blake-chan."

Hinata stood up in case they were hostile. She saw Tayuya leading the Malachite twins. The two black haired girls looked surprised and Melanie asked, "Lady Cinder, is that you?"

The Byakugan Princess said "Well, well. You know me but I don't know you….you two do look familiar though. Who are you?"

Melanie bowed and said, "I'm Melanie Malachite and this is my twin sister Miltia." (Miltia also bowed). "We were bodyguards at Junior's Nightclub in Vale. We were there when you first brought Roman Torchwick in."

Hinata looked thoughtful and said, "You wore white and your sister wore red, correct?"

The twins smiled and said, "Yes!" in unison. "So you do remember us Lady Cinder." said Miltia.

Tayuya asked, "So this Cinder chick….she's some kind of noble where you two come from?"

Hinata smirked and said, "That was only in underground circles. Here I am Hyūga Hinata, heiress of the Hyūga Clan. Please just call me Hinata. I'm a Konoha kunoichi. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The redhead grinned. "I'm Tayuya. The way you talk so proper; you must be related to Hyūga Hiashi Jiji."

Hinata _barely_ stifled a snort at the 'old man' comment. She smiled and said, "Yes, Hiashi-sama is my Father. It is nice to meet you Tayuya."

Kurenai asked, "So the three of you are Oto Kunoichis? I'm Yuuhi Kurenai by the way. I'm Hinata-chan's Jonin sensei."

"You are a _genin?_ " asked Melanie with bulged eyes.

"We all have to start somewhere." said Hinata with a shrug. "Besides, I'm only thirteen physically…."

….

 **Fire Country, near Otafuku Gai**

Team 7 received their orders from Konoha and headed for home. They sealed the body of the still unidentified ninja Naruto got his gunblade from and planned to turn the body over to forensics in Konoha. As they travelled along in the early afternoon the group cut across country and avoided the well travelled areas. Around four in the afternoon they stopped to eat and take care of the call of nature. Naruto had Shear Trigger out and was testing the weight and feel of the weapon. He looked at the bullets it used and said, "This weapon could probably be adapted to use chakra charges like your Gambol Shroud Blake-chan."

"Are you thinking about using different elemental chakra Naruto-kun?" asked Pyrrha as she sipped out of her canteen.

The orange loving ninja nodded. "That was the idea I had in mind Pyrrha-chan. I think we'll need Tenten's help to see if we can modify it. It's that or seeing if Tenten can make bullets for it."

Kakashi scratched his chin. "You do realize that it might be possible to combine the ideas and make elemental bullets. We know the blade is made of some kind of chakra metal."

"Do you have any idea where it could have been made Kakashi-sensei?" asked Blake. "It obviously was created from a Remnant design here in the Elemental Countries."

"I'm afraid it's going to have a weapons specialist that identifies it Blake." said Kakashi. "I figure your friend Tenten will be able to tell us a lot. She told me things about the White Light Chakra Saber even _I_ didn't know and it's been in the Hatake Clan a long time."

Blake chuckled, "I'm sure Tenten-chan will enjoy looking the Shear Trigger regardless."

Naruto put the weapon back in its sheath on his back and said, "Well, one thing is certain. I can't really use traditional sword training to use this. Shear Trigger is just too different."

"On the positive side, few opponents will have any idea how combat it Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha. "Once we get back to Konoha you can start training in earnest with it."

Blake nodded. "One thing that will be necessary is to train your body so that blade is like an extension of your arm."

The blonde got a puzzled look on his face and said, "An extension of my arm?"

"What Blake means is the weight of the weapon won't slow you down; like it's part of your arm." explained Kakashi. "It's a traditional kenjutsu step in mastering a blade."

"Hmmm….Cool." said Naruto. "I guess I'll be working on aiming it too. Sounds like a challenge."

Pyrrha smiled and said, "I'm sure you'll excel once you get used to it Naruto-kun."

"We will get you there before you know it." said Blake confidently.

The orange loving ninja grinned. "Thanks Pyrrha-chan; Blake-chan."

Once they finished with their break, the group was underway again, each looking forward to getting home to Konoha….

….

 **Konoha Hospital**

Rock Lee was sitting up in bed surrounded by his teammates and couldn't have been happier. "I will be released to go home day after tomorrow. After all I've been through I finally can get back to training!" said Lee excitedly.

"Tsunade-sama left us **_very strict instructions_** Lee." said Tenten wagging a finger at her teammate. "We are not about to let you hurt yourself going overboard by exercising too much."

"But Tenten-chan…." whined Lee.

Gai chuckled. "Tenten-chan is right Lee-kun. When must slowly temper your _Flames of Youth_ before we can leap back into the furnace and reforge ourselves. Consider this an exercise in patience my apprentice."

"Yes Gai sensei!" said Lee with a salute. "Still, it will be wonderful to be back out on the training grounds once again. Speaking of which, I wondered how your temporary teammate will feel about this. I truly hate to deny him stoking his _Flames of Youth_ with Team 9."

Neji put his hand firmly on Lee's shoulder and said grimly, "That pale skinned freak has **_NO_** _Flames of Youth_. I could not imagine a worse teammate than him."

Lee's round eyes got huge. " ** _NO_** _Flames of Youth?!_ That's _horrifying_ Neji-kun!"

"Will you shut up in there? This is a hospital! People are trying to recover here!" yelled a woman from the hall.

Tenten said, "Inside voices guys." and everyone nodded in agreement.

"But how can someone **_lack_** the _Flames of Youth?!_ " whispered Lee loudly. "Gai-sensei's mere presence ignites the _Flames of Youth_ in others."

Gai dabbed a tear and said, "Your praise touches me deeply Lee-kun but there are some that simply cannot see the truth. I'm afraid that young Sai has remained untouched by the _Flames of Youth_ and is insulting and belittling to his teammates. Perhaps in time he will open his heart but not right now. Besides, we need to all go out and celebrate you getting out of the hospital in two days. I suggest we invite your many genin comrades that were participating in the chunin exams before this unyouthful conflict with Oto broke out…."

"That's brilliant Gai-sensei!" said Lee excitedly. "We could even have sparring matches!"

 _Alas, a_ _ **Youthful**_ _idea from hell was born_ ….

….

 **Fire Country/Rice Country Border**

The Malachite twins and Tayuya were sitting and chatting with Hinata. As it turned out the twins were immensely relieved that someone else from Remnant was there to talk to. Hinata said, "So you are all three hoping to become Konoha kunoichis. It sounds like you've already joined us Tayuya-san."

"Well, I was given amnesty and a brevet rank of chunin by Jiraiya-sama but it's up to the Hokage as to what I'll be officially." said the redhead. "Your old man said he'd help out though."

"I think that's quite reasonable that Father is letting you stay with us." said Hinata. "I thank you again for saving his life. Both the clan and I owe you a debt of gratitude."

Tayuya shrugged. "It's no biggie. I really had no idea he was some kind of noble when I pulled his fat out of the fire."

Melanie asked, "Do you think they'll let my sister and I stay in Konoha? We don't have any place to go right now."

Hinata said, "Given your backgrounds are from Remnant; I believe that could open some doors for you. I can't guarantee anything of course. There are very few of us and it's a well kept secret so don't tell anyone. We will need to talk to the Hokage. It would also be an advantage to know your combat skills as kunoichis as well."

"We are a tag team." said Miltia. "Melanie uses her feet and I use my hands in our primary fighting style."

"They mesh _perfectly_." said Tayuya in praise. "I've never seen anyone quite like them."

"I'm sure once we get back to Konoha a lot of ninjas will be tested in their skills." said Hinata. "I think right now Hokage-sama's goal is to get everyone fed and healthy. Just judging by how many here are sick I'd say Orochimaru didn't take care of his people."

Melanie said, "He experimented and killed many of his own people…."

Miltia added, "We were among his victims. I think it's a miracle we are still sane…."

Hinata looked at the twins sadly for a moment and then said, "You are no longer under his rule. Consider this a chance to start over. I have a friend who also was a victim of Orochimaru and from Remnant. I think it would do you some good to talk to her."

"What is she like?" asked Miltia curiously.

Hinata sat back for a moment and said, "She is a quiet and reliable person with a cool head. She was a huntress in Remnant. Once you get to know her I think you'll like her."

"Talking about Blake-chan?" asked Anko as she and Kurenai joined the small group.

"Anko-sensei; Kurenai-sensei, you're back!" said Hinata in greeting. "Yes, I was just talking about Blake-chan."

Anko grinned. "You two were archenemies at first. She really hated some of the stuff you did."

"We we on opposite sides of the law in Remnant." said Hinata. "I'm happy to call her my friend now."

"So this Blake person was a huntress?" asked Melanie. "How good is she?"

"Blake-chan is a very skilled kunoichi." said Anko. "She's also my adoptive little sister." added the Snake Mistriss proudly.

Kurenai said analytically, "Blake is a solid chunin skill wise and that was before she started her heavy training. Who knows what level she's at now."

"Badass!" said Tayuya. "I can't wait to meet this chick. Maybe we can train together."

"There are several Teams that train together in Konoha." said the Genjutsu Mistress. "Perhaps you and the twins could train with them."

Anko said with a gleam in her eye, "It might be fun…."

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

That evening, Sakura was working in Kabuto's lab along with her sensei. The rosette had a particular file in hand. It was a deceased personnel file. "So this Kidōmaru of the Sound Four lost to Uzumaki Naruto even though he had a second level curse seal in an active state?" She looked at the photo of the multi armed Oto ninja and asked, "How did he lose to _that_ knucklehead?"

Kabuto smiled indulgently. "I guess Konoha never told you about Uzumaki Naruto-kun did they? Even with him being your teammate they kept it secret."

' _Stop stalling and tell me you_ _ **fool!**_ ' roared Sakura's darker half mentally. "What secret is that Kabuto-sensei?" she asked in a confused tone.

Kabuto set his lab results on the table and said, "Naruto-kun is the jinchūriki; or container of the nine tailed demon fox Kyuubi. He is virtually guaranteed to become a Kage level ninja by default….if he lives long enough." Kabuto's eyes flashed dangerously. "I thought Naruto-kun was a dangerous wildcard and asked for him to be eliminated. Orochimaru-sama agreed and sent Kidōmaru. Unfortunately we totally underestimated Naruto-kun….It cost Kidōmaru his life. I don't know how much power Naruto-kun can harness but Kidōmaru was jonin level and ended up hacked into pieces as I understand it."

Sakura's darker half was practically giddy inside. ' _Yes! I knew there was more to Naruto-kun than I thought. He could become_ _ **power incarnate**_.' she thought. The rosette said in her best whiny voice, "But he _can't_ be as strong as Sasuke-kun!"

Kabuto sighed. "I hate to shatter your image Sakura but at this point Sasuke-kun needs _lots_ of training to match Naruto-kun."

The rosette was smiling internally and said in a girly tone, "Well! I'm sure Sasuke-kun will catch up in no time. If Naruto-baka is so great then why didn't Orochimaru-sama gift _him_ with the cursed seal?"

' _Because Naruto can't be controlled. Orochimaru-sama said it himself_.' thought Kabuto. "Orochimaru-sama felt the cursed seal might interact with Kyubi's chakra. The results would have been too unpredictable." ' _Just like Naruto-kun himself is_ ….'

"Well, I still say Sasuke-kun is better." said Sakura petulantly. ' _I can't believe she actually believes all that….the idiot girl must be blind_.' she thought darkly.

Kabuto shrugged and smiled, "Of course he is Sakura-chan. Let's get back to your studies now."

"Of course sensei." answered Sakura dutifully.

….

Later Orochimaru was looking at Sakura's contact lens closely. Sakura was sweating a bit at having the snake sannin in her face as she sat on the exam table. "I have to say I'm truly impressed Sakura-chan." said the white snake. "The work that you and Kabuto did to create this contact lens is truly remarkable. I am pleased. Even when you have your sharingan active I can hardly tell a difference. Well done Sakura-chan."

Sakura did her best to bow from her sitting position and said, "Thank you so much Orochimaru-sama. You don't know how much your praise means to me."

The snake sannin nodded at the pinkette's obeisance. "I expect great things from you in the future Sakura-chan. Keep learning from Kabuto-kun." Orochimaru turned to Kabuto and said, "The next challenge would be to create a chakra conductive contact lens that _anyone_ could use. Sakura-chan's work beautifully with her but the same couldn't be said using her contact on others. Consider that a little side project for the two of you."

Kabuto bowed and said, "Yes Orochimaru-sama. I think there is much to learn from this. By the way, I have the results of the latest cursed seal candidates that you told me to compile."

Orochimaru grinned. "Very good Kabuto-kun." Looking over his shoulder at Sakura he said, "You are dismissed for the day Sakura-chan. I have business to work on with Kabuto-kun."

Sakura hopped up from the table and bowed deeply. "By your leave Orochimaru-sama." The pinkette quickly left the lab.

….

Feeling mentally exhausted from her encounter with the Snake Sannin; Sakura returned to her room where she found Sasuke waiting for her sitting in bed. He asked, "Where have you been Sakura-chan?" in his usual superior tone.

She looked surprised. "I wasn't expecting you to be here Sasuke-kun. I was getting my eye checked by Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto-sensei."

"Hnnn. Well I'm here now so get undressed." commanded Sasuke.

' _I'm sick of putting up with this shit_.' she growled mentally. Sakura grinned and then said, "Look into my eyes my _Sasuke-kun_." The minute their eyes met his face went blank and he slumped back in bed unconscious. ' _You'd think the vaunted Uchiha having the sharingan he would be more resistant to genjutsu….Oh well; when he wakes up he'll think I've been his submissive little bitch and that he got his rocks off on me….How sickening_.' Sakura went to her bathroom mirror and took off her contact lens over her sharingan eye. She saw the iris had changed from onyx to a blotchy red and black mix red with a normal black pupil. When Sakura channeled chakra into it she found its appearance changed only in the sense that there was the image of the red blotches rotating instead of the former three red tomoes.

Activating and deactivating her eye a few times she put her green contact lens back in place. ' _I don't even need this contact lens to control this eye now; just to hide it. It's almost absorbed. Fortunately my eye hasn't lost its genjutsu abilities at all even though the capability to predict an enemy's movements is almost gone.'_ She spread her eyelid open with her thumb and forefinger to get a better look. _'It's really not even a sharingan anymore. I wonder how much more it will change before it's complete_ ….'

' _You just refused Sasuke-kun?!_ ' shrieked Sakura mentally. ' _How could you?!_ '

Her darker half was still looking in the mirror and she thought, ' _Still alive in there princess? I'm sick of being defiled by that weak loser_.'

' _But Sasuke-kun_ _ **loves**_ _me; he_ _ **needs**_ _me!_ ' cried the pinkette within.

Her darker half scoffed. ' _He doesn't_ _ **love**_ _you; he_ _ **uses**_ _you! And the_ _ **only**_ _thing he needs from you is to pop out a bunch of little Uchiha spawn to rebuild his wretched clan. You heard Kabuto earlier today;_ _ **Naruto**_ _has potential that's off the charts. At least he genuinely had feelings for you….not that you ever paid attention_.'

' _And just how do you plan to get back into Konoha?_ ' laughed Sakura from her cage. ' _I'm a missing nin! Your precious Naruto would probably try to kill you on sight_.'

The darker Sakura chuckled, ' _Once the change is complete we won't even be recognizable. Haruno Sakura will be dead for all intents and purposes_.'

' _Shut up,_ _ **shut up, SHUT UP!**_ ' screeched Sakura from within her prison.

' _Not so high and mighty now are you?_ ' said the jail keeper scornfully. ' _Face it Sakura-_ _ **chan**_ _; your stupid idea of coming into the cage with me to_ _ **PURGE**_ _me was the dumbest thing you've ever done. That cursed seal you've been leeching power off of wasn't enough. I'm not going to make that mistake. I've won and there is no escape for you! You get weaker every single day and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it!_ '

Sakura screamed and cried from within her cage but her darker half just mentally shook her head. ' _It's only a matter of time before the cursed seal keeping you alive is used up and dissolves. You are as good as dead pinky_.'

Adjusting her emerald green contact she just put back in, Sakura's darker half grinned and went to take a shower. "I have to look the part when _Sasuke-kuuuun_ wakes up." she said sarcastically.

An hour later Sakura got out of the shower wearing a sleeping yukata and climbed into bed with the still unconscious Sasuke. She infused him with a tiny bit of chakra to bring him out of his genjutsu induced coma. Sasuke woke up and saw Sakura was 'asleep.' He was exhausted and rolled back over facing away from her to sleep the rest of the night….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha Front Gates**

The next morning Team 7 arrived back in Konoha much to their relief. They were soon in the mission hall writing their reports about the battle at Kurai Lake and the incident at Otafuku Gai. They also turned the sealed body of the ninja from Otafuku Gai over to forensics for identification. Kakashi turned to his tired genins and said, "Well done Team 7. Your orders are to head home and relax. For the next two days we will be enjoying some rest and recovery. Naruto, if you get that gunblade checked over let me know what you find out. I'm just as curious as you three are."

….

 **Yakiniku Q**

Three hours later the genins of Team 7 had cleaned up thoroughly and were enjoying a very filling lunch. "Man, I've missed this place. It's not as good as Ichiraku's but then again what is?" asked Naruto rhetorically.

Pyrrha giggled. "You can't live on ramen alone Naruto-kun." The redhead then added, "Oh yes; Ino says hi. She seemed disappointed she couldn't join us but Team 10 is practicing today."

' _She probably just wants to eye-hump Naruto-kun anyway_ ….' grumped Blake mentally. "Well, what do you guys want to do after we take the gunblade to Tenten?"

"I don't know. I'm really interested in what she has to say." said Naruto. "Hopefully she'll be in."

"I am interested too." said the radiant redhead. "Anyway; I bet she'll be as excited as we are."

The feline faunus girl smirked. "Knowing Tenten she'll be _more_ excited."

….

 **Tenten's Weapon's Shop**

The Shear Trigger was sitting on top of the counter and Tenten was looking at it with her nose at the counter level. Her big dark brown eyes were full of fascination. Tenten's Father had come out of the back and was also squatted down so his eye level was at the counter like his daughter.

' _They look like a pair of moles with their heads sticking out of the ground_.' thought Naruto with a mental chortle.

As the Father and daughter moved the blade around to examine it from different angles; Blake smiled in amusement. "I think we made Tenten and her Dad's day Naruto-kun."

Pyrrha asked, "So what do you think of Naruto's gunblade?" She had humor in her green eyes.

Tenten's Father stood up and said, "This craftsmanship is _beyond_ excellent. There is only one place this could have come from."

"Where is that?" asked Naruto surprised.

" _Iron Country_." said Tenten and her Father in unison.

Then Tenten added, "The bullets….not so much. You have a superbly made weapon Naruto but the ammunition is subpar at best. Let's take it out back and test this beauty."

Naruto watched as Pyrrha and Blake explained what they knew about gunblades to Tenten and her Father. Tenten gripped the handle and tested the weight of the Shear trigger before she aimed it like a crossbow and fired two rounds. Lowering it she saw one shot was dead center and the other slightly to the left of the target. "This crummy ammunition isn't good enough. It's close to but not right for the diameter of the gun barrel. It rifles wrong and causes the barrel to whip to the left."

Naruto had question marks prominently on display above his head and said, "Ummm….what?"

Tenten's Father came back with the two expended bullets in hand. They were badly deformed from being fired. He said, "Here Tenten-chan. These things are hardly good for scrap."

The bun haired girl had a look of disgust on her face as she looked at the two lumps of lead. "Don't worry Naruto; Dad and I can make you some _real_ ammunition for Shear Trigger. It's a non standard size and rifling but who cares? This gunblade is a work of art. Its bullets should be too." She spun the Shear Trigger in her hand like a gunfighter and said, "Use that crappy ammunition to practice with while we make you some _real_ ammo and practice ammo."

"How did you spin it like that?" asked Naruto with stars in his eyes. "It looked _so cool!_ "

Tenten chuckled and said, "Learn how to aim and use it properly and I'll teach you those fancy tricks."

Pyrrha said, "Naruto-kun and I were discussing the idea of adding elemental chakra to the shots. Do you think it would be possible to add seals to the ammunition to change its effects?"

Tenten's eyes lit up and she looked over at her Father who grinned. The bun haired girl said, "Follow me back into the shop."

Soon Tenten and her Father were rattling off dimensions and weights of the planned ammunition for the Shear Trigger. She said excitedly, "After a standard bullet; we can make earth, fire, lightning, wind and water shells as well as armor piercing and high explosive rounds….provided you can make the seals of course…." Tenten got out a small disk of lead and a scriber. "You two would have to engrave the seals on these with a scriber and charge them elemental chakra. Dad and I can do the rest."

….

Team 7 headed back to Naruto's apartment eager to start design some seals that were about the size of a fingertip. "It will be hard work and the shells will be expensive but think what you can do if this works!" said Blake excitedly.

Naruto got out his sealing books and said, "Let's look up elemental tags first! There is a ton of research to do. You can help too Blake-chan."

The three eager genins were soon hard at work on Naruto's kitchen table….

….

 **Fire Country/Rice Country Border**

The last two days passed quickly for Team 8 as they helped out around the refugee camp. The caravan of refugees and injured going back to Konoha was made up of twenty wagons hauling eight to ten ninjas each. About two thirds of those riding in the caravan were in no condition to fight but that still left a third that were combat capable. At the front of the convoy was Hinata in a scouting position beside her sensei Kurenai. The red eyed jonin nodded when Hinata gave them the all clear. Kurenai raised her hand and motioned forward as the caravan two rows wide of ten carts running in pairs slowly moved out.

Hinata saw her Father Hiashi in one of the front two carts as he proudly watched his daughter in the lead position. Beside him sat Hyūga Hoheto who was speaking to Hiashi. "It seems our Heiress has grown both in skill and confidence Hiashi-sama. You must be proud. She's leading the caravan like a true leader."

Hiashi nodded. "I have to confess that as her Father it is difficult not to be filled with pride. She is quickly becoming a dynamic young Lady. I would never have dreamed she would become so much more powerful even months ago…."

 _Flashback…._

 _Hiashi was taking his evening meal with Hinata as they sat by each other close to the fire. Hinata said, "This is...nice Father. It is rare we spend any time together as family. I wish Hanabi-chan could be here too."_

 _The Hyūga Patriarch admired his daughter's features in the firelight. "Hinata-chan; you are looking more and more like your Mother every day. You are growing into a beautiful young woman. I am very proud of you."_

 _Hinata smiled softly. "When we get back to Konoha perhaps our family can spend time outside of meals together. The Elders practically separated Hanabi-chan and I you know."_

 _"_ _Hanabi-chan looks up a great deal to you Hinata-chan." said Hiashi. "Tell me something Hinata; do you hate Neji? He did his best to kill you after all."_

 _Hinata's eyes seemed to flicker with a fire within. "I would like to hate him for what he did but I don't. That isn't going to stop me from cheering Naruto-kun on when he beats the arrogance and fate out of Neji though. He needs a good old fashioned pounding to open his eyes."_

 _"_ _You expect Uzumaki Naruto to defeat Neji?" asked Haishi with a raised eyebrow._

 _"_ _I foresee Naruto-kun beating him utterly." said Hinata confidently. "Naruto-kun already put Neji in his place once but he wants to do it in a proper match."_

 _The Hyūga Patriarch said, "Hinata-chan; Uzumaki Naruto is….how do I put it…."_

 _Hinata's eyes flashed. "I know about Kyubi. Naruto-kun already told me. He is very dear to me."_

 _Hiashi's eyes widened and he said, "If you know the truth then I will trust your judgment."_

 _"_ _Thank you Father." said the Heiress. "It means more to me than you know." She embraced Hiashi in a gentle hug and said, "I love you Father."_

 _Hiashi felt the warmth travel through him and said, "I love you too Hinata-chan."_ _He returned her hug. "_ _You and Hanabi-chan are my greatest treasures."  
_

 _They sat quietly together for the rest of the evening…._

 _Flashback end_ ….

As the caravan moved along all on board were eagerly looking forward to seeing the gates of Konoha….

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

Late that same night Sakura awoke to someone fiddling with her door lock. ' _Don't tell me Sasuke-baka lost his key….He should be shacked up with Karin tonight anyway_ ….' She heard chuckling and a couple of male voices out in the hall she didn't recognize.

"….Since Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto are gone we can play with the girls…."

"Guren's too damn strong but Sasuke's two bitches are good enough. Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed they say…."

"….Ha ha, the younger the tighter. The Uchiha's busy with the redhead so we'll have fun with pinkie…."

"What's pinkies name anyway?"

"….I think it's whore. There are three of us and three holes so it will be fun for all of us. Who knows? It might get her off too…."

Sakura reached under her bed and gripped a piece steel that she'd taken from Orochimaru's armory….

The door finally came open and they saw Sakura lying there fast asleep in her bed. "Awwww. How cute." said one of the Oto ninjas sarcastically as he ripped the sheets away. Sakura was in her travelling cloak and combat gear. She sat up and smiled as the O-katana she had in her hand took the first ninja's eyes out in a brutal strike straight across the face….She smiled viciously as the man screamed bloody murder. His two friends were too shocked to move and one of them was stabbed in the stomach before the rosette disemboweled him in a fantastic spray of blood and gore. The third one threw a handful of shuriken at her. She blocked all but one with her sword and the last one cut her face.

Strangely, rather than bleeding her skin just seemed to peel back where it was sliced….

….

Guren woke up to the sounds of someone screaming. Grabbing her gear she ran out into the hall and saw **_carnage_**. Sakura was standing there with half her face torn off revealing slightly lighter skin underneath. The pinkette was _bathed_ in blood. Guren saw Orochimaru's prized Kiri O-katana dripping with blood in Sakura's hands. The chakra blade was in a sheathed position. Another guard was coming at Sakura and the girl drew her sword too fast to follow. Guren's eyes were wide. "That's…. _iaido!_ " she said aloud in shock. Sakura turned to Guren and lashed out with her blade. Guren was fast enough to avoid a fatal strike but felt her tendons in the back of her knees get cut. Guren stared as she got a good look at Sakura who was wearing a smile of pure malice on her face. The contacts were out and her non-sharingan eye was red.

"Who are you?!" said Guren. "Where is Sakura?"

The young woman said, "Sakura is all but dead and gone…." She reached up and grabbed the other half of her face and peeled it back showing a very attractive face with red eyes. Then she reached up and pulled her pink hair back and off causing long, wavy jet black hair to cascade out from underneath. The young woman said, "I like you Guren; so out of kindness I'm going to spare you just this once…." She looked at the wall and her red 'sharingan' eye flashed. A portal of red energy appeared in front of her and the mysterious girl walked through it and vanished leaving a trail of dead and broken bodies in her wake….

….

Stepping out of a red portal several miles away; the black haired young woman said aloud, "The strong live and the weak die Sakura. Those are the rules." She paused and felt the breeze blow her long hair and cloak back bit showing her voluptuous figure. She said, "I spared the Uchiha so you should be thanking me….We're going to Konoha. We're going to see Naruto-kun."

She smiled coldly. "Haruno Sakura is no more. From now on I'm Raven Branwen…."

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, a lot of people had guesses as to who Sakura was or was merged with. No one guessed Raven Branwen though. Raven is where her sword skills came from all along. The exact nature of the how and why of their merger will be explained down the line. For now though; a 13/14 year old Raven Branwen is loose in the Elemental Countries with a very high quality O-katana that she isn't afraid to use….and she is looking for Naruto. Lee is out of the hospital and next chapter we'll see his _Youthful_ return. Aside of that, Team 7 is developing new weapons in Naruto's super secret lab that doubles as his kitchen and Team 8 is finally headed towards home. See you next time. Blue out. 12/7/16


	21. Chapter 21

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm still writing from work so updates will continue at a snail's pace. I can't wait to get a new computer at home. Here is chapter 21. Enjoy!

Quote: _"Guys; why are you looking at me funny? I'm totally fine; seriously!" Nora Valkyrie after a coffee overdose induced coma -RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

" _Who are you?!" said Guren. "Where is Sakura?"_

 _The young woman said, "Sakura is all but dead and gone…." She reached up and grabbed the other half of her face and peeled it back showing a very attractive face with red eyes. Then she reached up and pulled her pink hair back and off causing long, wavy jet black hair to cascade out from underneath. The young woman said, "I like you Guren; so out of kindness I'm going to spare you just this once…." She looked at the wall and her red 'sharingan' eye flashed. A portal of red energy appeared in front of her and the mysterious girl walked through it and vanished leaving a trail of dead and broken bodies in her wake…._

 _…_ _._

 _Stepping out of a red portal several miles away; the black haired young woman said aloud, "The strong live and the weak die Sakura. Those are the rules." She paused and felt the breeze blow her long hair and cloak back bit showing her voluptuous figure. She said, "I spared the Uchiha so you should be thanking me….We're going to Konoha. We're going to see Naruto-kun."_

 _She smiled coldly. "Haruno Sakura is no more. From now on I'm Raven Branwen…."_

….

Chapter 21

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

"Orochimaru-sama; of the twenty three personnel that had a run in with this person that was disguised as Sakura only two survived." reported Kabuto. "They are Guren and Izumi who lost his eyes and was the first cut down. Everyone else was slaughtered with extreme prejudice. I've also confirmed that your prized Kiri Water Edged O-Katana was used and is missing from the armory."

Orochimaru was looking over Guren's report as he listened to Kabuto. "Red eyes, wavy black hair and some sort of teleportation bloodline….Who is she? To think that she has been imitating Sakura and knows Iaido…."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Karin reported gradual physical changes in Sakura's appearance from seeing her in the shower. It could be this person was here longer than we realized."

"What of the guard Izumi?" asked Orochimaru. "Has he given a verbal report yet?"

"Izumi-san is still delirious from the pain of losing his eyes." said Kabuto. "I will give him a sedative so I can get him to talk."

Orochimaru nodded in approval. "Did Sasuke-kun notice anything?" asked the snake sanin. "He was _sleeping_ with her after all."

The glasses wearing nin shook his head. "Sasuke said he didn't notice a thing and he was with her night before last. I hate to admit this but I think this imposter has been here awhile. I believe she had the green eye contacts made as part of her disguise."

"But we both saw her with her sharingan mere days ago." said Orochimaru. "You did routine blood tests to check her DNA for rejection of the contact lens over the sharingan. Double check those for changes Kabuto."

Kabuto bowed. "As you wish my Lord." He then dismissed himself.

The snake sanin pondered to himself, ' _Could that young woman actually_ _ **be**_ _Sakura? It seems impossible but with the split personalities_ ….'

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

The ' ** _crack!_** _'_ sound of Naruto's gunblade split the morning at Training Ground 52 as Naruto used the inferior ammunition for practicing his targeting. "There isn't a hope in hell with this ammo." said Naruto as another round veered to the left much to his irritation. "It's no wonder that enemy ninja never hit me at long range. He was shooting all over the place."

Blake smiled from her sitting position on the ground beside the standing Naruto. "You're getting frustrated Naruto-kun. The goal here is to get your arms used to the recoil of the gunblade which you are doing very well with. Besides; you've actually been hitting the targets now even if it hasn't been dead center."

"I agree with Blake-chan." said Pyrrha. The radiant redhead was working on fuinjutsu seals for the ammunition on Naruto's other side on a sketchpad she had in her lap. "You couldn't hit the side of a barn when you started." she added while laughing.

" _Pyrrha-chan_ …." whined Naruto. The redhead laughed more as Blake joined in. Naruto gave up and gave the girls a toothy grin.

Blake stood up and said, "You've shot up enough targets for know. Let's practice your sword katas."

Naruto was soon doing overhead swings to get used to the weight of his new weapon. The three decided he should try firing a few shots to increase the speed of his swings but that ended up with Naruto burying his blade in the dirt. "Well, that didn't work." said the blonde as he pulled his weapon out of the ground.

Pyrrha said, "We'll come back to that step later. Obviously we are rushing things."

It was about that time Yamanaka Ino arrived. "Wow! What was that terrific noise? Is that your new weapon Pyrrha-chan told me about Naruto-kun?"

Naruto said, "Hi Ino. Yep; this is my gunblade. I'm learning to use it so it's rough going right now."

Ino flashed Naruto a huge smile. "I'm sure you'll have it down in no time Naruto-kun."

Blake thought to herself, _'I can smell the damn hormones coming off Ino_ ….' "So what brings you way out here to Training Ground 52 Ino? Where is Team 10?"

"Asuma-sensei gave us the day off." explained the blonde kunoichi. "When Pyrrha-chan left in her combat gear this morning I figured she came out here. I thought I'd see what you guys were up to. Besides, Naruto-kun's here! –with his new weapon!"

' _Besides, Naruto-kun's here?_ ' thought Pyrrha. ' _Could she be any more obvious?! Blake-chan is going to murder her and I'm inclined to help_.' The resident redhead said to her friend, "Ino-chan; we are teaching Naruto-kun the proper way to handle his gunblade so we're going to be weapons sparring until lunch."

"That's cool." said Ino. "I'll just sit back and watch. This afternoon maybe we can all hang out."

Blake's eyebrow twitched and Pyrrha let out a long suffering sigh. "I guess if you want to Ino-chan…." said the redhead.

….

Two hours later a tired Blake and Pyrrha were sitting down with their bokkens and Naruto was sitting with them healing from the beating he'd taken during their morning spars. He wasn't as tired as the girls but Naruto was sporting a few bruises. Ino was fussing over Naruto. "You girls should be more careful! Let me help you Naruto-kun. You're all beat up."

Naruto replied, "I'm fine Ino. I heal really quickly. Besides, I am bound to get roughed up. I'm just starting out."

Ino was about to disagree when Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves. He gave a double eye smile and said, "I figured you three would be out here working though it's your day off. Ah, Ino's here too."

"Kakashi sensei; Blake and Pyrrha-chan are merciless!" said Ino. "Look at poor Naruto-kun!"

Kakashi shrugged and said, "Looks like the girls have been teaching you the fine art of swordplay Naruto. Let's have a look at your forms."

Naruto quickly hopped up and went through the basic katas with Kakashi checking them over with a critical eye. "Hmmm…." said the silver haired sensei. "You are holding back Naruto. We need to get you a custom bokken so you won't worry about hurting the others with a cutting edge."

"We've been telling Naruto-kun he's been holding back all morning." said Blake.

Kakashi chuckled, "He just doesn't want to hurt you lovely ladies." Naruto and the girls blushed slightly and their sensei snapped his fingers. "I have an idea. Let me borrow that gunblade of yours for a bit Naruto. I have a friend who I believe could craft you a custom bokken."

"Really Kakashi sensei?" asked Naruto. "I figured we'd see if Tenten could do it."

"She probably could." agreed Kakashi. "But my friend specializes in woodworking only so I think he could get it done faster. Besides, I figure you kids already have Tenten and her Father working on something."

"That's true." said Naruto. "She's making ammunition for Shear Trigger."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I know guns aren't common in ninja villages but I'm surprised she didn't have some bullets already. That store has _everything_."

"Shear Trigger is a custom size sensei." said Pyrrha in a distressed tone. " _Everything_ about it is custom –including the caliber of the rounds."

"That's going to cost a few ryo." said Kakashi dubiously as he accepted the gunblade from Naruto. "I'll have this back to you by this evening if I can track down my old ANBU buddy. Hopefully I'll have a bokken with it. Later!" Kakashi vanished in a body flicker.

"We _so_ have to learn the body-flicker." said Naruto as his teammates nodded.

….

 **Hot Springs Country**

Raven Branwen came into a bounty station and said, "I'm here to collect the bounty on the Bandits of the Salt Hills."

The man behind the counter looked at the red eyed girl incredulously and then started to laugh. "Hahaha! You've got guts making a claim like that Missy. I suppose you have proof? There leader is and ex-chunin from Taki that goes by the name of Hantā Kusa. He's no pushover. I think you need to learn the rules of the trade before you-"

Raven pulled a bloody scroll out of her backpack and said, "Here's your proof." She unsealed the scroll and twenty decapitated heads rolled out and spread blood all over the counter and floor. Everyone in the room was shocked into silence as she picked up the head of Hantā Kusa and set it down in the middle of the counter with a meaty _splat_. "That's Hantā Kusa according to the bingo book old man. Now I believe I have a check to cash."

The guildsman was flabbergasted and said "All by yourself…?"

"I needed some easy ryos." said Raven. "They were convenient." ' _No need to tell him they were all blackout drunk and passed out. A baby would have put up a better fight than these losers_.'

The men from the guild soon counted up the heads and verified they were all the Salt Hill Bandits. Soon Raven had a large stack of Ryo bills in hand and was on her way….

….

 **Konoha Hospital**

Lee was getting his final checkup from Tsunade before he would be would be released from the hospital. "Now remember Lee; you are still in physical therapy for the next two weeks. After that you will be checked again and hopefully we can release you to your normal exercise regimen under Maito Gai." said the slug sanin. "I have instructed Gai on **_exactly_** what you can and cannot do Lee-kun so follow my instructions and don't push yourself. You've just been through surgery and aren't superhuman so keep those _Flames of Youth_ in check or you'll end up in the hospital again. Do you understand me Lee-kun?"

Lee saluted with fire in his eyes. "I shall follow your orders to the letter Tsunade-sama! I assure you that in two weeks my _Flames of Youth_ will be stoked to new levels!"

Tsunade sweat dropped. "I guess that's the best I can ask for Lee-kun. You are dismissed." After Lee went roaring out of the hospital at breakneck speed, the busty blonde healer thought to herself, ' _Gods, Lee is just Gai all over again_.'

….

Gai was in the 'Nice Guy' pose addressing Lee. "And so my apprentice, your exercise regimen with be comparatively light but fear not; we will stoke your _Flames of Youth_ to new heights as soon as you are released for your regular exercise. I the meantime you need to take it easy and recover. I know it will be difficult given your passion for training but we must persevere."

"Yes Gai sensei!" said Lee with a salute. "I cannot wait to begin my full goken training again. I shall start with five hundred one armed pushups."

"Make that one hundred pushups Lee-kun." said Tenten as she looked over the paper from the hospital. "Tsunade-sama's instructions are very explicit on exactly what you are allowed to do."

"Only one hundred Tenten-chan?!" asked Lee with shocked eyes. "That's hardly enough to warm up."

Tenten held the paper up to Lee's face and said, "Read the paper. _One hundred and not one more_. Gai sensei may let it slide but I won't."

Konoha's Sublime Green Beast said sagely, "Ah yes. Tenten-chan is acting in your best interests Lee. Consider her your conscience during this trying time."

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee-kun!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee-kun!"

Cue man hug with sunset genjutsu and crashing waves from hell….

' _That's one thing I didn't miss_ ….' thought Tenten and Neji as one….

….

 **Northern Fire Country**

Team 8 was in a diamond formation around the Konoha Ninja Caravan. Hinata was in front, Shino was behind and Kurenai and Kiba were on either side. They were usually accompanied by several lightly injured or uninjured comrades who were rotating back to Konoha. Everyone was in a festive mood that they were heading home. It had been two days and the ninjas were making good time.

Shino was talking with his clansmen as they brought up the rear. "The Reapers were a real threat but we saw them coming before they realized ninjas were guarding the caravan. We were fortunate that they didn't expect us and Team 8 capitalized on their mistakes." explained Shino.

"You are being far more modest than needed Shino-kun." said one of the Aburame kunoichis. "Your Father Shibi will be most impressed by your actions. The four of you taking out nearly two dozen trained samurai is no small feat."

Another Aburame ninja said, "You'll be seeing quite a bit of bounty money for that lot Shino-kun. Spend it wisely."

….

Hinata was up on point with two other Hyūga women from the branch house named Suzuka and Honoka. They were cousins but hard to tell apart at a glance. Suzuka was slightly taller and had shorter hair than her cousin. Hinata didn't know them very well but they certainly knew who _she_ was….

"Our heiress has such daring kunoichi gear!" giggled Honoka. "I wish I had the legs to carry that off Hinata-sama."

Suzuka said, "More importantly I heard you had a bow Hinata-sama but all I see are the two kodachis on your back." Then she added, "Either is unusual for a Hyuga though."

Hinata said, "The swords on my back are the Gemini Blades and they form a bow. Observe." The Hyūga Heiress flipped her blades in front of her and formed her chakra bow with three arrows at the ready. "I'm in the mood for duck." said Hinata as she loosed her three arrows into three ducks flying overhead in a rather spectacular display of marksmanship. "Please keep a lookout while I collect my targets." said Hinata as she darted off.

Suzuka and Honoka were both flabbergasted as Hinata quickly gathered up her three kills and sealed them in a scroll for later. Suzuka said, "Hinata-sama's aim is astonishing! Why haven't we Hyūgas combined the byukagan with marksmanship before now?"

"I don't know…." said Honoka. "Hinata-sama did that so effortlessly. I wonder if we could do the same."

….

Kurenai saw Hinata shoot down the three ducks from her position beside the caravan. "Looks like Hinata-chan wants duck for lunch."

Anko sweat dropped. "Do your genins always choose what's on the menu so randomly Nai-chan?"

The red eyed jonin smiled and shrugged. "I have a team of trackers; what did you expect?"

The snake mistress looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "When you put it that way I guess it makes sense."

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

In Kabuto's medical bay Orochimaru's right hand man was questioning the guard Izumi who was finally talking again due to pain medications….

"What do you mean ' _We tried to rape her_ ' you fool?!" growled Kabuto. "That…. _woman_ slaughtered twenty one of our dwindling numbers all because you and your two friends thought you'd _have fun_ with Sakura?! Damn it Izumi!"

"Who cares about that crazy pink haired bitch?" shrieked Izumi. "What about my eyes?"

Kabuto started, "Your eyes?! Why I ought to-"

"Now, now Kabuto-kun. Temper, temper." said Orochimaru in a silky voice.

Kabuto jumped to attention and Izumi froze. "O-Orichimaru-s-sama?" squeaked Izumi.

Orochimaru patted Izumi's shoulder. "That's right Izumi-kun; I've been listening the whole time. It seems that you and your friends have caused me a great deal of trouble. I said that Sasuke-kun's wives were off limits and it seems that you and the other two weren't very good listeners."

"Forgive me Orochimaru-sama!" squealed Izumi. "It wasn't my idea, it was-"

Izumi was silenced with a slap across the face. Orochimaru said, "Observe my apprentice. I will show you how to make someone talk _properly_."

Kabuto nodded in fear of his Master's wrath….

….

Three hours later Izumi was dead and Kabuto had a huge mess in his lab to clean up. Kabuto was just glad the screaming was over.

"Make sure the others realize the price for disobeying me before you sterilize this lab Kabuto-kun." ordered Orochimaru as he left….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

Team 7 and Ino were at Ichiraku's Ramen having lunch. "One Team Seven Special Ayame nee-chan!" said Naruto as the group sat down.

Ayame smiled at their favorite customer and his girlfriends. "Do you want your usual orders?" she asked.

"Five beef and five pork for me!" exclaimed Naruto happily.

"I'll have three seafood ramen today." said Blake.

Pyrrha said courteously, "I think I'll have two chicken ramen. What would you like Ino-chan?"

Ino looked a bit dazed at the amounts being ordered and said, "I'll have one vegetable ramen please."

"Coming right up!" said Ayame as she went to the back with the massive order.

….

"So do you guys always order this much?" asked Ino as Naruto demolished his sixth bowl.

"Always!" said Naruto. "Ramen is the food of the gods after all."

Blake finished her second bowl and said, "This is our usual amounts. We've been working hard all morning after all."

Pyrrha was politely eating her second bowl and said, "Ino-chan, you eat more than you used to. Don't tell me you're on a diet again."

Ino waved her hands and said, "No, no! I just can only hold so much ramen you know?"

….

After lunch Team 7 was trying to figure out what to do. "Shame we can't pick up a courier mission." said Blake.

Pyrrha chuckled. "You know that downtime is mandatory after a heavy combat mission Blake-chan. We're supposed to be relaxing."

"Training is relaxing Pyrrha-chan." said Naruto.

Blake stretched and yawned. "I feel like a nice nap after a big lunch."

Naruto was admiring Blake's fabulous frame as she stretched. "Well, we could all go back to my apartment and relax there."

Pyrrha yawned daintily. "Maybe we should go to your apartment and hang out Naruto-kun."

Ino said, "Sure! Can I come with?" ' _I've never been in Naruto-kun's apartment before!_ '

Blake really wanted to chase Ino off but technically the blonde kunoichi hadn't actually _done_ anything. "I guess so Ino. What do you think Naruto-kun?"

Naruto _was_ looking forward to some make out time with his girlfriends but this shot that idea down in flames. "Ummm, sure, I guess so Ino. I think my apartment is a bit messy right now though."

Ino giggled. "I'm sure it's fine Naruto-kun." ' _Score!_ '

….

 **Hot Springs Country/Fire Country Border**

Raven was looking at her new red and black clothing she bought that was much like the gear she wore in Remnant. Her snake patterned Oto uniform was a thing of the past now. "As much as I hated to spend the money a girl _needs_ her clothes _." 'It's ironic that both Sakura and I favored red. It's the_ _ **only**_ _thing we have in common_.' She adjusted her O-katana. ' _I wonder how Naruto-kun is….I'll see him soon enough in Konoha when I join up. It shouldn't be too difficult to join given all the refugees I heard about fleeing Rice Country_.' With those thoughts in mind Raven set off for Fire Country looking for more easy bounties to pay her way….

….

 **Northern Fire Country**

Kurenai signaled for a stop. As it was getting close to evening; the Konoha forces decided to set up camp for the night and were soon eating dinner. The caravan would be in Konoha by the next evening.

Team 8 was sitting around a campfire. They were joined by Anko, Tayuya and the Malachite twins as well as Haishi and Hoheto Hyūga. "I wish Hana nee-chan and Kaa-san had been able to come back with us." said Kiba to his team. The dog ninja was a bit down about the situation. Akamaru whined and Kiba said, "It's okay boy; I know you miss them too."

Melanie Malachite said to Kiba, "I'm really amazed you can actually talk with your dog Kiba. Ninken are pretty special."

Kiba grinned. "Dogs are the greatest!" He scratched Akamaru behind his ears and said, "Isn't that right boy?"

Akamaru barked happily in agreement which made Melanie chuckle.

Miltia asked, "So how did your clan learn to speak to dogs anyway Kiba?"

The dog ninja looked thoughtful and said, "The Inuzukas have had canine partners since before Konoha was founded. I really don't know which Inuzuka was the first to speak to dogs but we were teamed with dogs for generations before then. I guess I should ask one of the elders or something. I never really thought about it. I was able to talk to canines as long as I can remember."

On the other side of the fire Hinata was talking to her Father and her clansman Hoheto. Hiashi's eyes were wide as he looked at a picture of his own Father and the other Elders of the Hyūga Clan all completely bald and other photos with makeshift turbans….

"W-w-why?" stuttered Hoheto.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Hiashi in dismay.

"I thought I would save you the shock of their new hairstyle." said Hinata with a completely straight face. "Last I heard they were looking into fuchsia and chartreuse wigs to cover their bald heads. When I left they were wearing old towels as turbans. I really wonder what got into them."

….

 **Meanwhile in Konoha** ….

….The Hyūga Elders were having a meeting about their currently bald pates. "Hinata-sama is hell incarnate!" cried Elder Hiraku. "Hiashi-sama is on his way back and we all are still bald as a bunch of cue balls!"

"At least you aren't a woman!" shrieked Elder Majo. "It's ten times worse for Minako and I!"

Elder Minako cringed. "That omiai was a very bad idea…."

The head Elder sighed. "I never realized that smuggling wigs into the compound would be so difficult."

"I still think the branch house seized the wigs we ordered." muttered Hiraku.

"We have no proof at all." said Elder Minako. "I already discussed it with the head beautician for our clan and she says the only wigs that came in were the bargain ones in fuchsia and chartreuse. She also said they can't use hair dyes on the wigs without them melting. They are simply too cheaply made."

"We need to send out an investigation team to find the rest of the wigs." said Hiraku.

Elder Majo snarled, "I case you have forgotten; the majority of our clansmen are at war. Did that ever occur to you Hiraku?"

They didn't know the head beautician was under direct orders from Hinata-sama…. _and thought the whole situation was hysterical_ ….

….

 **The Konoha Ninja Caravan**

Hiashi shook his head. "I will get to the bottom of this and find out what possessed them to shave their heads….there will be a reckoning."

Hinata's eyes danced with a mixture of flames and amusement. "It should be interesting to hear their excuses for their actions." ' _It's feels so good to be evil!_ ' the heiress thought with a mental giggle.

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

Hatake Kakashi knocked on Naruto's door carrying a bokken that was a wooden replica of the Shear Trigger courtesy of his old friend Tenzo from ANBU. He heard his Teams laughter inside and hoped no one was pregnant. ' _Who knows what Naruto can do with all those clones….lucky bastard_.' he thought with a perverted giggle. Kakashi knocked again and one of Naruto's clones opened the door.

"Kakashi-sensei; come on in." welcomed the clone.

"I brought your new bokken Naruto." said Kakashi. "Are you busy?"

"We were just playing Go." said Naruto. "It kind of became a marathon. Let's take the bokken to boss. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

Kakashi came in and saw Pyrrha looking carefully at the board as she placed a white stone down. She was playing against Naruto who (unsurprisingly) was using a wild and unpredictable strategy that threw all logic out the window.

"How is it going kids?" asked Kakashi. "Playing a few rounds of Go I see."

Pyrrha looked up brightly and said, "Kakashi-sensei, welcome! I see you have the bokken for Naruto-kun."

"Indeed I do." said Kakashi as he handed the bokken to Naruto and set Shear Trigger on the table beside the blonde. "Feast your eyes on this."

Naruto admired the polished bokken with wide eyes. "This is beautiful work sensei." said Naruto. "How did your friend make it so fast?"

"He has an amazing talent with woodworking." said Kakashi. "Anyway he owed me a favor so he did it for free. Now you can practice properly."

Naruto compared the weight and the balance of his new bokken and the Shear Trigger and said, "This _is_ amazing. I can really practice with this. Thank you sensei!"

"Any time Naruto." said the silver haired jonin.

"Now maybe Blake and Pyrrha-chan won't be so brutal sparring with Naruto-kun." said Ino.

Blake shook her head, "No, now Naruto-kun can go full force instead of holding back. We can't go easy with blades. You don't learn to wield a sword overnight after all."

Naruto chuckled and said, "I never thought I'd be learning swordplay. Our whole team has swords now."

"You are doing well so far Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha. "The dynamics of using a gunblade are different from standard swords so the learning curve is high."

Blake nodded. "It will all work out Naruto-kun. Just remember you won't be combat ready with the Shear Trigger for some tome though."

….

 **Eastern Fire Country**

Raven Branwen set up camp for the night. ' _I have to grow stronger. I'm far from my peak but I figure I'm a solid chunin in strength. Considering how young my body is I suppose I shouldn't complain_." The black haired young woman carefully set up ninja traps she'd learned from Sakura's memories and dozed off into a light sleep.

" _I hate you Raven Branwen!_ ' said Sakura weakly from her cage.

Raven materialized outside the cage in a shimmering red portal. She smiled coldly. "Still clinging to life princess? The cursed seal has finally been absorbed and drained away so Orochimaru has no way of helping you. This body is all me now. I even got my figure back."

The rosette coughed. " _W-what about Sasuke-kun? What about Ino-chan joining?_ "

The black haired young woman rolled her eyes. "Ino won't be joining anybody –or at least not Sasuke-chan. Maybe I'll befriend her just to spite you. After all; I don't want her to murder her own Mother like you did. As for Sasuke-chan….he'll be dead soon enough. I figure Guren will kill him off sooner rather than later."

The pinkette moaned, " _H-hate you_ …."

As Raven disappeared she said, "Fade to black Haruno Sakura…."

….

 **Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters**

After sterilizing the huge mess in his lab; Kabuto was running DNA tests on Sakura. After some investigation he had the pink "wig" of hair that the imposter was wearing and it tested positive as Sakura's actual hair. ' _Did the imposter kill and scalp Sakura then? I've run the tests three times and this is Haruno Sakura's real hair_.' Kabuto looked inside the wig and saw several strands of wavy black hair. On a whim he decided to test it and got astonishing results. "The DNA is a one hundred percent match?! But…. _how?_ " thought the baffled medic aloud. ' _There is no dye or other chemicals. It's naturally black and wavy instead of pink and straight_ ….'

Kabuto started checking articles of clothing and everything else that was left behind in Sakura's room to test and always came up with the same results. ' _There is no foreign DNA that can't be positively identified. Somehow Sakura transformed from one person into another and I believe it was triggered by the cursed seal. Could it be she had a dormant bloodline all along? She had civilian parents and nothing of note is written about the Harunos except they were merchants. She has no living relatives because she executed her own parents_ ….'

"A ryo for your thoughts Kabuto-kun?" asked Orochimaru. "You've been in deep thought for some time."

The bespectacled medic was embarrassed at his lack of awareness and said, "I'm terribly sorry Orochimaru-sama; I should have been more observant. This mystery about Haruno Sakura is a difficult concept to grapple with."

The snake sanin raised his eyebrows. ' _That's unusual_.' "What have you found out Kabuto-kun?"

"Sakura-chan and the imposter are identical genetically." said Kabuto. "They are one in the same person. I've run dozens of tests and they all match."

Orochimaru's scientific curiosity was officially piqued now. "Do you have a theory about this phenomenon?"

Kabuto scratched his chin and said nervously, "I believe Sakura-chan _may_ have had some sort of dormant bloodline that was triggered by the cursed seal. It's farfetched but her split personality started then. She was showing more and more signs of her personality stabilizing but that still wouldn't explain her sudden knowledge of _iaido_ of all things. My gut feeling is as Sakura-chan changed into this new person her original personality may have been subverted by a new and more capable one. I plan to ask Karin-chan and Guren some more questions but Sasuke-kun didn't notice anything and he was _sleeping_ with her."

"It seems Sasuke-kun's observational skills are rather _lacking_." said Orochimaru with a flat look. "How is Guren-chan anyway?"

"Guren is fully healed physically but is in shock as all of us here are." said the silver haired medic. "She was completely at the imposter's mercy –or rather Sakura's mercy. Anyway, Guren is still a bit skittish."

"That's perfectly understandable." said Orochimaru. "As long as she recovers in the next couple of weeks she'll be fine." The snake sannin looked at the strands of pink and black hair under glass that Kabuto was studying. "Fascinating. Keep me informed on this Kabuto."

"Of course Orochimaru-sama." said Kabuto with a bow.  
….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, I'm not too thrilled with this subpar chapter as it was incredibly rushed but people were _constantly_ pissing and moaning for an update so _now_ they have the damn thing. I will probably go back and do some serious editing when I actually _have time_ to write it properly. See you next time. Blue out. 4/7/17


	22. Chapter 22

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This chapter is transitional but sets up a lot for the next arc. We'll probably have one more chapter after this one before the next major arc kicks off. Here is chapter 22. Enjoy!

Quote: _"Now run along, all of you. Why don't you play in a forest full of deadly Grimm?" -Professor Ozipin talking to Team RWBY –RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 _Orochimaru's scientific curiosity was officially piqued now. "Do you have a theory about this phenomenon?"_

 _Kabuto scratched his chin and said nervously, "I believe Sakura-chan may have had some sort of dormant bloodline that was triggered by the cursed seal. It's farfetched but her split personality started then. She was showing more and more signs of her personality stabilizing but that still wouldn't explain her sudden knowledge of_ _iaido_ _of all things. My gut feeling is as Sakura-chan changed into this new person her original personality may have been subverted by a new and more capable one. I plan to ask Karin-chan and Guren some more questions but Sasuke-kun didn't notice anything and he was_ _sleeping_ _with her."_

 _"It seems Sasuke-kun's observational skills are rather_ _lacking_ _." said Orochimaru with a flat look. "How is Guren-chan anyway?"_

 _"Guren is fully healed physically but is in shock as all of us here are." said the silver haired medic. "She was completely at the imposter's mercy –or rather Sakura's mercy. Anyway, Guren is still a bit skittish."_

 _"That's perfectly understandable." said Orochimaru. "As long as she recovers in the next couple of weeks she'll be fine." The snake sannin looked at the strands of pink and black hair under glass that Kabuto was studying. "Fascinating. Keep me informed on this Kabuto."_

 _"Of course Orochimaru-sama." said Kabuto with a bow._

….

Chapter 22

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

Naruto bid Pyrrha, Blake and Ino goodnight after dinner. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't at least kiss his girlfriends goodbye but with Ino there the entire village would know within minutes….Pyrrha and Ino walked back to the Yamanaka Flower Shop and Blake went back to her apartment she shared with Anko.

The orange loving ninja was peering outside through his window and noticed once again that he could _feel_ the positions of the clouds in the sky. ' _I have to talk to Jiraiya-sensei about this. I can tell more and more what the weather is going to do before it happens_.' The puzzled blonde decided to call it a night….

….

 **Rice Country, the Village of Oto**

Early the next morning, Gamabunta towered over the Village and Jiraiya used chakra to enhance his voice. "All Konoha forces fall back to 500 feet from the edges of town. Bunta, give me oil!" The remaining parts of Oto Village were drenched with Toad Oil within minutes. "This has gone on long enough." said the Toad sanin. His voice echoed over the village. "Those of you remaining in Oto have one hour to surrender. The ground is soaked with oil. Whoever is left in Oto in one hour will be burned alive."

"You'll never take me alive!" screamed one missing nin. "Better to burn than be captured!" Several others yelled the same thing while hurling insults at Konoha. The Konoha forces stood their grounds until one of the missing nins launched an exploding tag at Jiraiya. Time stood still for everyone as the tag fell short and landed in the oil. The Konoha forces fled back as the conflagration consumed every square inch of Oto covered in oil. The wave of fire would only stop when it ran out of fuel to burn which would take days….

" _Good gods_ , the fools destroyed themselves!" exclaimed Shikaku as he stared at the flames. His teammates Choza and Inoichi were equally shocked.

Even hundreds of feet away the Konoha forces could feel the searing heat and various water jutsus were used to keep the fire contained until it burned itself out. Orochimaru's remaining followers there were charred into ash….

….

On a ridge overlooking the colossal inferno was Yakushi Kabuto who had returned to Oto on a recon mission to see if the area was still occupied. Orochimaru had hoped something might be salvageable but this put all those ideas to rest. ' _I never imagined that Konoha would be so ruthless_.' thought the bespectacled ninja. ' _The odds of anyone surviving that are zero. Orochimaru-sama said that there could be nothing left but destruction on this scale is hard to believe. I'd best report back_.' He noted that the fire was being contained and the Konoha occupation forces were already packing up to withdraw back southward into Fire Country. Seeing there was nothing left of Oto to speak of, Kabuto withdrew as well….

….

Jiraiya shook his head and thought, ' _Fools. I haven't seen anything this bad since the Third Shinobi War when we were at a stalemate on the Earth Country border. What a bloody waste of life. They could have surrendered peacefully and we would have burned the town after they all evacuated_ ….'

The general mood of the Konoha ninjas was somber. Oto was no longer a threat and though Orochimaru had escaped their grasp his power base was utterly destroyed. Both the First and Second Divisions were already packing their things up. Jiraiya told them he wasn't going to let this pointless siege continue and he delivered….or rather, Oto did. The short Konoha/Oto War was over. It was time to go home….

….

 **Eastern Fire Country**

Raven Branwen was sitting down to have some lunch and was watching the rabbit cooking over her campfire. "Hmmm…. Pyrrha Nikos was on the Pumpkin Pete's commercials." ' _Gods that stuff tasted awful_ ….' "I'm not the only one from Remnant. She is friends with Blake Belladonna as well. Their origins were hidden from Ino and I….Er, Sakura so I suspect she is also from Remnant. I wonder if there are others."

Turning the rabbit on the spit to make sure it was cooking evenly, the black haired young woman thought to herself, ' _To think I died in the middle of teleporting to Beacon to check on Qrow and Yang when that white light hit me. Next thing I knew I was locked away inside pinky's head as a prisoner. Sakura's outer personality was locked in there with me and I absorbed it. She was so broken inside from killing her parents under a genjutsu that she let her inner personality completely take over and the inner was bat-shit insane. I think the cursed seal she had made her even more psycho and the sharingan didn't help_ ….' She looked briefly at where the cursed seal had been and saw it was completely gone.

"I almost pity outer Sakura but the weak die and she was _extremely_ weak." thought Raven to herself aloud. ' _At least I gained her knowledge so it can't be said that she was a total loss. I feel a friendship with Ino but she doesn't know who I am. I guess Pyrrha Nikos would be the best person to talk to_.'

Raven was soon eating and thinking about Konoha and Naruto. ' _I guess Konoha is my only home if I don't want to live as a bounty hunter. Naruto-kun reminds me a lot of Tai Xiao Long. I always did have a thing for blondes. The difference is Naruto-kun is_ _ **monstrously**_ _strong underneath all that kindness. Now I know what that intoxicating power was oozing out of him was at the Battle of the Bridge in Wave Country was; the Kyubi. What a prize Sakura passed up! To think Naruto always wanted to be Hokage. If he grows into his power like I plan then he'll be Hokage and then some_ ….'

….

 **The Konoha Ninja Caravan**

Team 8 was very happy to see Konoha looming in the distance. The trip back was uneventful compared to the one up to Rice Country. It was about four in the afternoon when they reported in at the front gates. The injured were soon taken to the hospital and the many Oto ninja refugees were processed with identification papers. Tayuya was already under amnesty and Melanie and Miltia Malachite stuck close to her. They had already made room at the Hyūga Compound for the three kunoichis and they followed Hiashi and his clansmen into their new place.

Kurenai and her team went to the Mission Hall and reported in to Ninjas on duty which was the Elders Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. Anko joined them in order to report they had two more survivors from Remnant in the Malachite twins. "The Hokage is very busy with the war effort and doesn't have time for such trivialities of two orphans from this Remnant or any other place right now." said Homura curtly.

Anko sweat dropped. ' _You mean these old relics don't know about Remnant?_ ' She made eye contact with Kurenai and saw the red eyed jonin was thinking along the same lines. Anko bowed and said, "Forgive me Elders." ' _Old windbags_.'

Homura nodded and said, "Team 8 and Mitarashi; you are dismissed."

Kurenai motioned her Team and Anko out and the group was discussing what to do. "Our best bet would be to talk to Kakashi since he's in the same boat as Hinata and the twins." said Kurenai quietly.

"Don't forget Blake-chan and Pyrrha." said Anko. "They might accidentally know the Malachite twins as well. I sent a letter. You think we should hunt them down Nai-chan?"

The Genjutsu Mistress paused and then replied, "Maybe it would be better to wait till tomorrow. We're all tired and we don't know where Team 7 is currently. It would be better to be rested."

Anko nodded. "Well, I'd rather have a little downtime to visit with Blake-chan anyway. We'll meet at the Dango Shop at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning." Anko winked and vanished in a body flicker.

Shino sighed, "Anko-sensei is incorrigible isn't she Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai chuckled and said, "She has been since we were Academy students. All of you head home and get a good night's sleep. We'll meet up at the Dango Shop tomorrow." She body flickered out as well.

Kiba yawned. "I think sensei has the right idea. I'm turning in early." He waved at his teammates and took Akamaru home.

Shino said, "I suppose I should head home myself. Good day Hinata-chan; don't stay out too late with Naruto."

Hinata giggled and nodded. "Have a good afternoon Shino-kun."

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Anko unlocked her front door only for a kunai to miss her nose by a fraction of an inch. She caught it between two fingers and said, "Blake-chan; I'm home!"

Blake smiled happily and said, "Anko-nee-chan! I'm so glad you are home; how are you?"

The Snake Mistress grinned at her 'little sister' and said, "I'm glad to be home. It's good to see your reflexes are still top notch." She tossed the kunai back to Blake and the two young women embraced. "So what have you been up to Blake-chan? Did you do anything exciting mission wise?"

Blake nodded. "I've had a few adventures." she said with a smile. "Take a soak in the tub and I'll fix us an early dinner nee-chan. We can talk then."

Anko stretched and said, "A good hot soak does sound excellent. Let's head over to the Hot Springs District Blake-chan. I'll treat us to dango afterwards to celebrate coming home."

Blake chuckled and said, "Alright, let's have dango for dinner."

….

 **Hyūga Compound**

Hanabi enthusiastically welcomed Hiashi home. "Father; you are safe at home!" she embraced him warmly and was very happy when he returned her embrace. The nearly seven-nearly-eight year old held onto her Father tightly.

Hiashi smiled as he hugged his youngest daughter. "Hanabi-chan; I have missed you my little girl!"

The entire clan was out welcoming their family members home and Tayuya and the Malachite twins were a bit dazzled at all of the byakugan wielders. "What a huge clan." said Melanie.

"No kidding." said Tayuya. "This is some place they have."

Hiashi came over and introduced Hanabi to Tayuya, Melanie and Miltia. "I'm very pleased to meet you." said Hanabi politely. "I understand you saved my Father's life Tayuya-san. I cannot thank you enough." The little girl then bowed as was appropriate.

Tayuya chuckled and said, "You sound just like Hinata being polite and all; it's nice to meet you." ' _Better try to not swear in front of the kid. Hiashi Jiji might get all bent out of shape_.' thought the redhead.

"….I wonder where Father and the other Elders are…." wondered Hiashi aloud.

Hanabi said under her breath, "They are probably hiding…."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Hinata eagerly knocked on her boyfriend's apartment door. Naruto opened the door only to see a tired but very happy Hinata. "Hinata-chan!" exclaimed the blonde as he pulled her in for a kiss and felt all her wonderful curves against him. "How is my Byakugan Hime?" asked Naruto enthused as he spun her around once.

"I'm happy to be back in Konoha Naruto-kun." she replied with a giggle. She kissed him again. "I wanted to stop in and see you before I go back to the Hyūga compound for the day."

They went inside Naruto's apartment and the blonde brought out some snacks while they talked about her mission. The orange loving ninja smiled as Hinata told him about how things had gone. "I'm glad that you are getting along with your old man again Hinata-chan. I know you were really angry at him for a while there."

Hinata nodded. "I'm glad things worked out as well. I feel like Hanabi-chan, Father and I will be closer from now on." Her eyes glinted and she thought, ' _I wonder how team toupee is doing. Mwhahaha!_ '

Naruto grinned before he leaned in and kissed her nose. "My prankster sense is going off. I feel there is a nefarious plot afoot Hinata-chan. What are you up to?"

The pearl eyed beauty burst into laughter. "I can't hide it from you can I Naruto-kun?"

"What's up?" asked the blonde.

Hinata got a gleam in her eye and said, "I changed the style of the Hyūga Elder Council's hair. They are all completely bald now, Father is going to have a fit at them!" she burst into evil giggles and handed Naruto the incriminating photos.

Naruto knew she didn't like the Elders and exploded into laughter himself. "I'm so proud of you Hinata-chan! You've taken your first steps into the world of pranking!"

The pair laughed and Hinata asked, "When does Team 7 meet in the morning Naruto-kun?"

The orange loving ninja answered, "We meet at 7:00 AM at Training Ground 52. Why do you ask Hinata-chan?"

"We found two more people survivors from Remnant." explained the pearl eyed girl. "Their names are Melanie and Miltia Malachite and I'm hoping that one of the others will know them."

"I remember Blake-chan mentioning that was in a letter from Anko-sensei." said Naruto. "Did you bring them back with you?"

Hinata nodded. "They are staying at the Hyūga compound. Team 8 and Anko-sensei are going to meet at the Dango Shop at 9:00 AM. I'm sure Anko-sensei will tell Blake-chan as well."

"No doubt Anko-sensei picked the meeting place." said Naruto humorously. "I'll stop at the Yamanaka's and tell Pyrrha-chan then."

The young couple soon bid each other goodbye with a passionate kiss and Hinata went home with a skip in her step….

….

 **Hot Springs District**

Anko and Blake were settled in the hot springs having a nice hot soak and some sake to mellow out a bit. "So Naruto-kun says your ears are kawaii huh?" asked Anko teasingly. "I told you all along you should let them show."

Blake blushed slightly and explained, "I left the bow off permanently starting last mission. The only reason I wear it now is for infiltration missions.

"Good for you Blake-chan." said the Snake Mistress with approval in her voice. "Cast a genjutsu around us so the others can't tell what we're talking about."

The feline faunus girl fluidly went through the hand signs and surrounded them with a simple genjutsu that would disrupt both vision and sound subtly. Anko nodded and asked, "You got my letter regarding the Malachite twins?"

Blake nodded. "I talked to Kakashi-sensei and Pyrrha-chan and neither one of them knew the pair. "I'd heard of Junior's Nightclub where they worked though. A friend of mine went there when she needed information. It was kind of a shady place as I understand it."

"That sounds about right." agreed Anko. "They knew who Hinata-chan once was at first sight."

The cat eared girl frowned. "Hinata-chan is my friend but sometimes she acts just like Cinder Fall. She was probably known in underground circles."

"Well they knew who Ozpin was as well." said Anko.

"Anyone living in Vale would know Ozpin. He was the Headmaster at Beacon and was famous even outside of Vale." said Blake. "They'll probably know of Pyrrha-chan too."

"Why is that?" asked the purple haired kunoichi. "Was she famous too?"

"After Pyrrha won a championship she became the television spokesperson for _Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flake's_ and she was a celebrity whether she liked it or not." said Blake.

"Pumpkin _whaaat?_ " asked Anko.

"It was a breakfast cereal." explained Blake. "You'll have to ask her sometime…."

"Bwhahaha!" bellowed Anko. "That's awesome!"

….

 **Hyūga Compound**

Hinata walked into the Hyūga Compound with a sway in her hips smiling at the festive atmosphere as she was welcomed home by the guards. Hyūga Tokuma came trotting up and said, "Welcome home Hinata-sama. We are all glad to see you have returned safely."

The byakugan princess's eyes ignited predatorily and said, "Where might our _esteemed_ Elders be hiding?"

Tokuma cringed slightly and said, "I'm unaware of where they are. They vanished when the news of you and Haishi-sama were back my Lady."

Hinata activated her byakugan and looked directly at the Elder's Meeting Room. "It seems the baldness brigade is hiding in their meeting room. I'll have to pay them a visit. Come with me Tokuma."

As the two walked there were many warm greetings to Hinata-sama and she returned them happily. Then she burst into the Elder's Meeting Room and said, " _Why_ are you not getting dressed Elders? A formal clan banquet will be held for Hiashi-sama's return. You are all expected to make an appearance as the Elders of the clan." The Elders all had eyes the size of dinner plates and it took all of Hinata's considerable willpower not to explode into evil cackles at their gob smacked looks.

"You-you wouldn't!" said Elder Minako.

Elder Majo was shivering, "You couldn't!"

Hinata smiled evilly as her eyes ignited demonically. "Oh I can and I will! It's that or I start sending out pictures of you in your towel turbans to the entire Village of Konoha."

An uncharacteristic " ** _EEEEEEEP!_** " echoed through the Elder's Chambers….

….

Dinner was a shocking affair. No one in the clan could decide what was worse. Chartreuse wigs, Fuchsia wigs, turbans or shiny bald heads. One thing was certain; the Elders would _never_ live this down….Hinata looked over at the Elders and smiled evilly as Hiashi glared at them and wondered if they'd completely lost their minds.

"It is good to see you so well Hiashi my son." said the Head Elder as he adjusted his turban. "The clan has missed you."

Hiashi deadpanned, "I can see that. I seems that the Elder Council has taken some * _cough*liberties*cough_ * in my absence. We will be discussing that very soon."

"Yes, it will be interesting to hear about the image change the Elder Council has gone through." said Hinata. "I shall be attending the meeting as well."

The Elders were sweating heavily as Hinata's blazing eyes and demonic smile chilled them to the marrow….

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Naruto came into the Yamanaka flower shop early in the evening and as usual found his nose assaulted by a hundred different smells at once. Ino was standing at the counter looking bored until she saw Naruto and then she immediately flashed him a smile. "Naruto-kun! Did you come to see me?"

Naruto said awkwardly, "Ummm, to tell the truth I was looking for Pyrrha-chan about some Team 7 business."

"Awww, I was hoping you had come over to hang out." said Ino dramatically.

"Sorry Ino; is Pyrrha-chan here?" asked the orange loving ninja.

"Yeah, she's in the house." said Ino. "Just knock before you head in."

….

Naruto knocked on the door and Yamanaka Ayano soon opened the door. She smiled and said, "Hello Naruto. What brings you by? Ino won't finish her shift for a couple of hours."

' _Why does she think I'm here to see Ino?_ ' thought Naruto. "Actually I'm here to see Pyrrha-chan about Team 7, Yamanaka-san."

"Ah, Ino must be disappointed." said the Yamanaka matriarch. "I believe Pyrrha-chan is up in her room. Just go upstairs and knock. It's the first door on the left."

Soon Naruto was at Pyrrha's door and realized he'd never visited her here before. ' _Everyone always comes to my place. Now that I think about it I've never been in Blake-chan's room and I've never been inside the Hyūga Compound_.'

He knocked and heard Pyrrha say, "Just a moment!" before she came to the door. The radiant redhead opened the door and saw Naruto there. She immediately lit up the room with a smile on her face. "Naruto-kun; come in!" Naruto noticed his red haired girlfriend was wearing a snug, midriff baring tank top and red shorts and had to stifle a nosebleed. She closed and locked the door behind him and greeted Naruto with a passionate kiss. And he ran his hands over all her luscious curves as she did the same to him. When they broke for air they were both panting. She said, "I was just thinking about you Naruto-kun."

Naruto was lost in a haze as the two kissed each other and she ground herself into his body. Naruto soon had a major erection and Pyrrha's eyes sparkled with delight as she unzipped his coat and started kissing his neck. Naruto hissed and settled his hands on her hips before they engaged in another lip lock to please each other. She gently pushed him down to sit on her bed and said, "When I think of you I have to touch myself." Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head as the radiant redhead started feeling herself up. She groped her firm breasts and then slowly worked two fingers inside of her short shorts.

The blonde was drooling as Pyrrha started panting before she climaxed before his eyes. Her green orbs were glazed over with lust and she had a wonderful smile on her face as she panted and rode out her orgasm. Naruto was entranced and slipped behind her before he whispered, "Let me help." She felt his hands fondling her breasts and she used her smaller hands to guide his larger ones to all her favorite spots. The green eye beauty started panting as she tilted her head to the side and Naruto started trailing kisses down her neck.

She guided his hand down inside her shorts and let out a breathy moan as he inserted two fingers. "That's it Naruto-kun. Just like that. Oooooh…." she whispered. Minutes later she saw stars as she melted into orgasmic bliss. She felt Naruto's throbbing erection grinding against her rear and smiled dreamily. She gently pulled Naruto's hand out of her panties and spun around to kiss him once again. She reached down and felt his excited manhood and started stroking it through his pants. "Now it's your turn…." she purred lustfully as she helped him unzip his pants. She reached into his underwear and gripped his throbbing shaft for the first time. Naruto gasped at the intimate contact and he moaned her name in a whisper. Pyrrha was excited as Naruto was as she drew him out to admire her prize. Her mouth was watering as she….

Ayano knocked on the door and scared the living daylights out of both teens. "Pyrrha-chan, is Naruto staying for dinner? I can set him a plate."

Pyrrha and Naruto were standing there with his hard on in her hands and their eyes locked. They both shook their heads 'no' rapidly and Pyrrha said, "Naruto-kun was getting ready to leave so he won't be having dinner with us." Both teens rapidly straightened their clothes and zipped up.

Naruto gave his redheaded girlfriend a peck on the lips as he zipped up his coat. "I was just leaving Yamanaka-san." said Naruto. "I have a schedule to keep I'm afraid."

Ayano said, "Ah, that's too bad; I'll let Ino-chan know." Ayano's footsteps echoed back down the hall….

….

Naruto made his escape from the Yamanaka residence and bid Ayano and Ino good night. He was flustered and very aroused and hoped neither of them noticed. ' _I never did get a chance to tell Pyrrha-chan about the twins from Remnant_ …."

As for Pyrrha; she was a hot mess and took a shower before she changed clothes for dinner….

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

After taking a cold shower Naruto finally felt his body relax. His head was full of images of Pyrrha, Hinata and Blake in various erotic positions and it didn't help. He heard a knock on his door and thought aloud to himself, "After Hinata-chan and Pyrrha-chan; if it's Blake-chan I might not be able to control myself." Throwing on a yukata and his underwear (and secretly hoping it was his cat eared hime) he opened the door and saw it was Kakashi. ' _Gods that's a turnoff_ ….' thought the orange loving ninja.

Kakashi gave a double eye smile. "Good news Naruto. A messenger bird came in from Jiraiya-sama that the war is over. Our people are coming home!"

Naruto instantly forgot he was hot and bothered and said, "That's _great_ news Kakashi-sensei! I can't wait to see everyone."

The silver haired jonin clapped Naruto on the shoulder and said, "The whole village is going to hold a festival when everyone comes home. It should be by the end of the week."

"That's a huge relief." said the orange loving ninja as he invited his sensei inside. "What are we going to do about Suna? They never got involved but….'

"I'm sure Hokage-sama will work things out diplomatically." said Kakashi. "….Just where did you hear about Suna Naruto…?" asked the silver haired jonin suspiciously.

The blonde smiled. "I have good ears. Besides, Jiraiya-sensei told me a two front war could break out so we needed to train extra hard. It wasn't hard to figure out who was most likely after Hokage-Jiji chased that Suna group straight out of town."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "Hmmm….You're more clever than I than I thought Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto sweat dropped. "I guess I'll accept your backhanded compliment sensei."

….

"So two more from Remnant have arrived and are staying at the Hyūga Compound. Interesting." said Kakashi. "I remember Blake talking about it but I'm surprised they came back with Hinata. There are probably extenuating circumstances."

Naruto shrugged. "Extenuating circumstances or otherwise we need to meet up with Anko-sensei and Team 8 tomorrow morning."

"Well, I guess we'll do our regular morning warm-ups and then head to the Dango Shop at 9 then." said the jonin. "Do Blake and Pyrrha know?"

"I'm sure Blake-chan knows." answered the blonde. "I stopped in to tell Pyrrha-chan but we….got interrupted before I could tell her."

Kakashi nodded, "We'll just tell her in the morning then. It's not an emergency after all."

….

 **Hyūga Compound, Elder's Meeting Room**

"You all tried to arrange an omiai for Hinata behind my back because I was absent….and Hinata punished you all by burning all of your hair off…." said Hiashi coldly with a fearsome bykugan glare. "Do I understand you all correctly Elders?"

The head Elder said, "Yes, it's all true my son."

"And you've been parading around like a bunch of circus clowns since then?" asked the Clan Head.

Elder Majo cringed and said, "We tried to order proper wigs!"

"I'm afraid all that arrived were chartreuse and fuchsia ones." said Elder Minako.

"Too bad all regular ones were outside of the clan's budget and were returned to the Fire Capital." said Hinata nonchalantly as fire danced across her fingertips. "It's such a shame I intercepted you spending money out of the clan's treasury instead of your personal finances."

"You little fiend!" screeched Elder Hiraku. "I should have _known!_ I should have known _you were behind it all along!_ "

Hiashi saw Hinata sitting there coolly as she said, "The clan's treasury is to be managed be the Clan Heiress or Heir while the Clan Head is gone. Incidentally, I'm billing the lot of you for the extra shipping costs since you ordered it to be shipped expedited….plus return shipping of course."

The Elders jaws collectively hit the floor and they all stared dumbly at Hinata in shock as she cost them a small fortune with the mere stroke of a pen. Even their wigs and turbans hit the floor revealing their gleaming pates.

Hiashi snorted before he exploded into raucous laughter at the Elder's expense…. " _BWHAHAHAHA! I've got tears in my eyes here! Oh. My. Gawd!"_ Once the Clan Head got his hysterics under control he said authoritatively, "Let this be a lesson to all of you. I deem Hinata's punishment of you to be fitting for the crime. The only hairpieces that you are allowed to wear until you hair grows back are those ridiculous ones you already have. You will carry out your regular duties in them. This meeting is now adjourned."

….

 **Fire Country, Village of Higashimura**

Raven Branwen beheaded an Ursa that had been marauding the Village of Higashimura with practiced ease. She watched as the creature evaporated away dispassionately until a normal bear's decapitated body was left behind. The people of the minor village cheered as she put her sword away. ' _Seeing a Creature of Grimm is bad enough but this one was different. What the hell is going on here?_ '

"That beast was a terror!" exclaimed an older man. "You must be a ninja or samurai the way you dealt with it."

The black haired young woman smiled and said, "I'm a kunoichi on my way to Konoha." ' _It must be Sakura's influence that I'm happy that I helped these people. Normally I_ -'

"You must be a great kunoichi then!" said a young woman. "And so beautiful too."

Raven felt her face start to heat up in a tiny blush. ' _Oh gods I'm actually blushing!_ ' Mentally smacking herself she replied, "Uh, thanks."

As it turned out the village was trying to send for aid from Konoha but didn't know if they could afford it so Raven was a huge help to Higashimura. She was treated to a big meal and lodging for the night for free as a result. Deciding this wasn't such a bad deal Raven settled in for the night. She thought to herself, ' _If I inform Hokage-sama about the Grimm it might end up being a feather in my cap. Konoha may not know anything about Grimm at all unless Pyrrha has already informed them. I'll find her first_.' Deciding that was the wisest course of action the red eyed beauty fell asleep and dreamed about Naruto-kun….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

A lot of jumping around this chapter but it was necessary to get all of the various plot points in. At last many of the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place. Hormones are in the air and Naruto is in the middle. The war has come to an end and the troops will finally be able to return to Konoha. The Village of Oto has been reduced to ash. With the exception of Raven everyone from Remnant is now in Konoha. We've also seen a bit more of what happened to Sakura/Raven. That will be fleshed out more in future chapters. Lastly another Grimm has reared its ugly head only to have it lopped off. Next chapter the Malachite twins will meet Team 7 and Raven will arrive in Konoha. See you next time. Blue out. 5/26/17


	23. Chapter 23

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

 _This chapter rounds out the last of the Konoha/Oto War and most of the loose ends will be tied up. Here is chapter 23. Enjoy!_

Quote: " _That is correct. I am a normal meat person just like you." –Penny on being 'normal' -RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 ** _Fire Country, Village of Higashimura_**

 _Raven Branwen beheaded an Ursa that had been marauding the Village of Higashimura with practiced ease. She watched as the creature evaporated away dispassionately until a normal bear's decapitated body was left behind. The people of the minor village cheered as she put her sword away. '_ _Seeing a Creature of Grimm is bad enough but this one was different. What the hell is going on here?_ _'_

 _"That beast was a terror!" exclaimed an older man. "You must be a ninja or samurai the way you dealt with it."_

 _The black haired young woman smiled and said, "I'm a kunoichi on my way to Konoha." '_ _It must be Sakura's influence that I'm happy that I helped these people. Normally I-_ _'_

 _"You must be a great kunoichi then!" said a young woman. "And so beautiful too."_

 _Raven felt her face start to heat up in a tiny blush. '_ _Oh gods I'm actually blushing!_ _' Mentally smacking herself she replied, "Uh, thanks."_

 _As it turned out the village was trying to send for aid from Konoha but didn't know if they could afford it so Raven was a huge help to Higashimura. She was treated to a big meal and lodging for the night for free as a result. Deciding this wasn't such a bad deal Raven settled in for the night. She thought to herself, '_ _If I inform Hokage-sama about the Grimm it might end up being a feather in my cap. Konoha may not know anything about Grimm at all unless Pyrrha has already informed them. I'll find her first_ _.' Deciding that was the wisest course of action the red eyed beauty fell asleep and dreamed about Naruto-kun_ ….

….

Chapter 23

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Training Ground 52**

Team 7 was taking a break after being hard at their morning training and Kakashi was talking to Naruto. "Jiraiya-sama said that you may have _Typhoon Release_ Naruto. He was researching it when he had to head off to Oto. I think that may be the reason you can sense the weather patterns. It's a very rare bloodline and I haven't had time to research it in depth with everything that is going on. Getting the team in shape took precedence."

Naruto looked puzzled and said, "I've never even _heard_ of that bloodline. What does it do?"

Kakashi scratched his chin and said, "Basically it is a wind affinity that is so strong that you can even summon storms that can destroy your surroundings. It's very mysterious. I'm sure it will take a lot of practice to master it. If the Oto situation hadn't been going on I'm sure Jiraiya-sama would have started training you on it but I don't have the scrolls to study. I've meant to get copies from Hokage-sama's private library be he's hard to get a hold of with the war wrapping up. I need to speak to him about the twins from remnant as well. There is just a lot going on you know?"

Pyrrha smiled. "It would be great if you had a bloodline Naruto-kun. Think of what Team 7 could do then!"

"Team 7 isn't exactly weak as it is." said Blake as she polished her Gambol Shroud. "If Typhoon Release is that powerful then we'll have to be careful with it."

"It's 8:30." said Kakashi. "Let's head for the Dango Shop and meet Team 8."

….

 **Dango Shop**

"It seems we're right on time." said Kakashi as Kurenai arrived with Team 8 and the others. Tayuya, Melanie and Miltia Malachite were soon introduced to Team 7 and the red haired former Sound Four member seemed very surprised at Naruto or rather his surname. "You're an Uzumaki?" she asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, Uzumaki Naruto. I'm pleased to meet you, -dattebayo."

Tayuya paused for a moment and then shook Naruto's hand. "I'm Uzumaki Tayuya. I guess we are cousins somehow or other."

"Cool!" said Naruto. "Welcome to Konoha! Jiraiya-sensei said a few of us were scattered about the nations. I hope we can be friends."

"I'd like that." said Tayuya. "This is fuckin' great!"

Melanie and Miltia both looked a bit bug eyed at Tayaya. "Your surname is Uzumaki?" asked Melanie. Seeing Tayuya nod Melanie asked, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Tayuya said, "Uzumaki's have special bloodlines and I didn't want that bastard Orochimaru to experiment on me."

Miltia nodded sadly and Melanie cringed thinking about what they'd been through at Orochimaru's hands.

After everyone was properly introduced the Teams sat down for some dango much to Anko's delight.

"So you worked at Junior's Nightclub…." said Blake to the twins.

Melanie said, "We were Junior's personal bodyguards before we um….died. Anko told us you were a huntress."

"Yeah, my teammate Yang went there for information sometimes." explained Blake.

"Yang Xiao Long?" asked the twins with their green eyes wide.

Blake nodded, "You knew her then?"

"She kicked our asses once…." said Miltia morosely.

The cat eared girl said, "Ummm, sorry about that. Yang was really strong." ' _I hope she survived somehow_ ….' "So what do you two specialize in?"

"We're taijutsu specialists." said Melanie. "We're a tag team."

"Perhaps we can spar together later." said Pyrrha.

"I'm really amazed to meet you Pyrrha." gushed Miltia. "I was afraid you'd be stuck up being a celebrity and all."

The radiant redhead sagged slightly and said, "I never really liked being famous. It's much better just being an average person."

"The invincible girl?" said Melanie in disbelief. "I find it hard to believe you'd be average in any way."

"Pyrrha-chan is a great teammate and friend." said Blake. "She has never been stuck up at all with any of us."

Kakashi said, "Well, as a fellow survivor of Remnant I'd like to see you join our ranks."

How did you die Professor Ozpin?" asked Miltia. "You were considered a legend."

Kakashi gave a double eye smile and said. "Just call me Kakashi. As for how I died…." He looked over at Hinata and said, "I lost in a life or death duel with a certain little firestarter."

Hinata simply said, "It's not my fault you were in my way."

Kurenai felt the tension rising and said, "Changing subjects; are you two hoping to join Konoha's ranks as kunoichis? I know Tayuya is."

"We'd like to try but we don't know anything about the way Konoha works." admitted Miltia.

"Konoha's great!" said Kiba enthusiastically. Akamaru barked and hopped into Miltia's lap making her laugh.

"You'll be quite safe here; especially in the Hyūga Compound." said Hinata.

Shino nodded and said, "I'm in full agreement with Hinata-chan."

Anko asked, "How would you girls like to do some sparring? We could probably gauge what strength level you are at."

Tayuya agreed and said, "That might be a good way to blow off some pent up steam. What do you two think?"

Melanie and Miltia looked at each other and then nodded. "Okay; we're game." said Melanie.

….

 **Konoha Front Gates**

Later that morning Raven Branwen was standing in front of Izumo and Kotetsu as they reviewed her papers. "So you are an unaffiliated kunoichi that wants to join Konoha Branwen-san?"

"That's right; I've heard Konoha is a good place." said Raven. "I'm tired of wandering. Besides, since you've just won a war against Oto I know your village is strong."

Izumo said, "We have a lot of people trying to join from different places so we can issue you a two week visitor's pass Branwen-san. You'll have to put in an application at the missions office if you want to join our ranks."

Raven bowed and said, "Thank you Guard-san." The red eyed girl entered the village with a sway in her hips.

Izumo commented, "She looks a lot like Kurenai."

Kotetsu nodded. "She certainly carries herself like a kunoichi. I wonder how strong she is."

"If she can actually handle that o-katana on her hip then she's no weakling." said Izumo. "Big blades like that aren't that common here."

….

Raven meandered into town and was drawn to the Haruno residence which was all boarded up. She felt empty and sad seeing the happy household Sakura grew up in more or less condemned. The dark haired girl felt tears sliding silently down her face. ' _I shouldn't be shedding tears for them but I feel so much grief. God's; I- Sakura murdered her own parents….No wonder she broke. I want to see Ino-chan and Ayano. Ino was Sakura's best friend. Am I wrong?_ ' Realizing she might be noticed, Raven went on autopilot towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Wiping the tears from her red eyes, Raven thought to herself, ' _Pyrrha Nikos was living there. Perhaps I'll be able to gather some information. I'd like to make sure Ino-chan is okay anyway after what Inner Sakura did to her and Ayano_.'

As she walked along Raven remembered Sakura and Ino racing to the Ninja Academy as children and constantly fighting over Sasuke. ' _Gods what foolish little girls. Sasuke was the worst choice possible. He's a power hungry egomaniac that doesn't care about anyone but himself. Damn it, Naruto-kun was there all along and I -Sakura treated him like dirt. She had no idea_.'

Opening the door to the Yamanaka Flower Shop; Raven saw Ayano at the counter looking healthy and well. The Yamanaka matriarch smiled and said, "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop Miss. I'm Yamanaka Ayano; how may I help you today?"

Raven thought to herself, ' _Good, Ayano looks unhurt_.' "I'm Raven Branwen, I was wondering if Pyrrha Nikos is here. I'm from her homeland and I was hoping to see her."

Ayano asked, "Really? Do you know her well?"

The black haired young woman shook her head, "No, not very well. I know of her but that's because she was famous there. I doubt she would know of me."

"Can you tell me the name of your homeland?" asked Ayano. The Yamanaka matriarch was doing her best to hide it well but she was very suspicious. ' _I need to be careful. Pyrrha-chan's past was hidden for a reason from who Inoichi told me_.'

"I'm from a land called Remnant." said Raven. ' _Ayano seems paranoid but after what happened I guess I can't blame her_.'

Ayano's eyebrows shot up and she said, "So you _are_ from Pyrrha-chan's homeland. She's out training but my daughter Ino-chan might be able to tell you where she is. Wait here and I'll call Ino down."

Raven said, "That's really not necess-" ' _Damn it, Ayano already took off. How am I going to face Ino-chan?_ '

….

A minute later Ino came down to the shop and said, "Hello, I'm Yamanaka Ino. Mama said you were looking for Pyrrha-chan?"

' _Ino-chan_ ….' thought the red eyed young woman. "I'm Raven….Raven Branwen. Nice to meet you. I'm hoping that Pyrrha Nikos might be able to help me. I heard she joined up as a kunoichi here and I'd like to also."

Ino smiled, "So your name is backwards like Pyrrha-chan and Blake's are. Cool. Where are you from?"

Raven looked a bit dumbfounded and asked, "You mean Pyrrha never told you? Is it some kind of secret?"

Ino shrugged. "I've never been able to find out. I'm _really_ curious you know?"

' _What do I tell her? She'll get in real trouble if she spreads it around. Then again I need to show I trust her_.' thought the black haired beauty. "If you can keep it a secret I'll tell you."

The sassy blonde nodded eagerly. "Okay!"

"It's a place called outside the Elemental Countries called Remnant." said Raven. "Don't repeat it."

"Remnant…?" asked Ino. "That's kind of a bleak name for a place."

The red eyed girl nodded. "It _is_ a bleak place. That's why I wanted to find Pyrrha; she was famous there."

Ino chirped, "Cool! I always wondered why Pyrrha-chan and Blake avoided the subject. They're probably out at the training grounds. I'll take you there." Ino smiled and said, "Come on, I'll lead the way."

….

 **Training ground 52**

Ino led Raven along talking the whole way. Raven was a bit torn on what to say. ' _Ino-chan seems okay. I don't think inner Sakura scarred her too much. I'm glad. What do I do now?_ '

The pair came upon Teams 7, 8 and 9 along with Anko, Tayuya and the Malachite twins. Gai was sparring with the twins and Lee was eagerly encouraging them to unleash their _Flames of Youth_. Raven covered a smile. ' _It looks like Lee is finally out of the hospital_ ….'

That's when Raven saw Naruto full contact sparring with Pyrrha at high speed. They were both smiling as they tore into each other with great precision. The red eyed girl was gawking at Naruto wondering just how strong he'd become. Pyrrha flipped over Naruto's foot sweep and blocked his follow up combo before she tried to nail Naruto with a ferocious mid kick that he blocked with a forearm. It was a fierce competition but it was obvious they were both having fun.

"Look at them go!" cheered Ino.

Raven nodded and said, "Yeah…." ' _How strong has Naruto-kun become? He's even stronger and faster than he was before_.'

A male voice said, "Well, well. Raven Branwen. You look so young too."

Raven turned to see Kakashi and nearly fell back in shock. 'K-Kakashi-sensei? Aren't you d-dead?"

Kakashi gave a double eye smile and said "Not quite. You might say I woke up at my own funeral. Is Qrow here too?"

She saw his single brown eye and whispered, " _Ozpin_ …."

"In the proverbial flesh Raven." He looked at Ino and said, "Ino, why don't you go sit with the others? I haven't seen Raven in a long time; I'd like to catch up with her."

Ino was surprised when Kakashi made some hand signals to Anko who nodded. He then placed his hand on Raven's shoulder and the two vanished in a body flicker….

….

 **Kakashi's Apartment**

Raven's head was spinning when she appeared with Kakashi at his place. He gave a double eye smile and said, "Raven, welcome to my humble abode. Why don't you tell me who you _really_ are? Or should I say were? Only two people would be that shocked seeing me alive and address me as sensei. One is Sasuke. The other is….Sakura. So which _are_ you Raven?"

The red eyed young woman sighed and face palmed. "Kakashi died and merged with Ozpin….God's, you two are just alike. What a headache." She sat at Kakashi's table and said, "Pour me a drink Ozpin. It's a long story."

Kakashi gave another double eye smile and asked, "Aren't you under age?" Raven glared at him and he poured her some sake before he poured himself some. Seeing her down it and hold out her glass for a refill Kakashi said, "Well, I have no doubts now that you are indeed Qrow Branwen's twin sister. What happened Raven and….?"

"Raven and the Outer Sakura." said the black haired beauty with a groan. "Crazy Inner Sakura is finally dead and I'm here. I'm sick inside over what Inner Sakura did…."

Kakashi set his glass down and said, " _Inner_ and _Outer_ Sakura? I don't quite follow Raven."

Raven sighed. "Sakura had a split personality of sorts. Inner Sakura was kind of an id and Outer Sakura was sort of a superego. It's hard to describe. The Sakura you knew was Outer Sakura. Inner Sakura was a lot wilder and out of control but was always repressed to some degree by Outer Sakura."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows and said, "And Sakura was always this way?"

"It was normal for Sakura." said Raven as she sipped her sake.

"So what happened to her parents?" asked the silver haired jonin.

With a visible wince, the red eyed girl explained, "Outer Sakura was placed under a genjutsu by someone from Oto and murdered her parents to _prove her love_ for Sasuke….I'm pretty sure it was Kabuto but I can't be one hundred percent sure….Anyway, when Outer Sakura realized what she'd done it shattered her and she didn't want to live anymore. Then Inner Sakura completely took over and locked the Sakura you knew away."

Kakashi poured himself another shot of sake and said, "So what did Inner Sakura do then?"

Raven shook her head. "She latched onto the delusion that _she_ had come up with the idea of killing Mebuki and Kizashi for Sasuke. It was the only way Inner Sakura could justify living. After that she defected to Oto to be with Sasuke."

….

Kakashi and Raven talked for a long time about what had happened in Oto. "So then Inner Sakura heard about my death from Sasuke and received my old eye?" asked Kakashi.

"Inner Sakura wanted to be as much like an Uchiha as possible for Sasuke so she asked for the sharingan." explained Raven. "It amused Orochimaru so he offered to give her the cursed seal to increase her chakra to handle the sharingan. It really didn't matter to him whether Sakura lived or died –Sasuke just needed women he could tolerate to give him babies. The Cursed Seal killed Sakura….Raven Branwen was merged with Outer Haruno Sakura as a result. I was locked away for a long time while Inner Sakura did awful things to Ino-chan and others. She'd completely lost her grip on reality and did everything for _Sasuke_ no matter how bad it was. While she was running around wild I was imprisoned and slowly absorbed Outer Sakura and became who I am now."

"You didn't destroy Outer Sakura then?" asked Kakashi.

"Outer Sakura was basically fading away." said Raven. "She wanted to die for killing her parents. More or less she surrendered her memories to Raven and passed on."

The silver haired jonin shook his head sadly and said, "So all that is left of Haruno Sakura is her memories and traits that were passed on to you…."

….

"All I had to do then was destroy Inner Sakura." said the red eyed beauty. "She had no idea Raven Branwen even existed at first. She thought I was Outer Sakura."

Kakashi was understandably befuddled and asked, "So what possessed Inner Sakura to let you free where you could destroy her?"

Raven chuckled, "I taunted her into it by badmouthing Sasuke for being the limp dicked weakling he is. She got irate and tried to use the power of the cursed seal to destroy me. It was anchored entirely to her soul so she figured that I couldn't stand against her. I lured her into the prison she had me in and I escaped and locked the door behind me. All she had to keep her alive was the Cursed Seal which rapidly began to fade after that. After that I started physically changing into Raven and Pinkie slowly passed into history. I was in disguise for a few weeks until the situation became untenable and I left by my teleportation."

The silver haired jonin nodded. "What about the sharingan I used to posses?"

"You're looking at it." said Raven bluntly as she pointed to her right eye. "When my body changed it became part of me. It can't do a lot of what it used to but it's great for genjutsu. I used it on Sasuke to avoid him having him sleep with me." Seeing Kakashi's eyebrows raise she added, "Yes, the sex with that traitorous prick was that bad."

Kakashi exploded into laughter. Once he calmed down the jonin said, "When Inoichi gets back you'll have to submit to a mind walk."

The black haired beauty got a look of distaste on her face and said, "I don't like it but I'll do it. Isn't this truth serum in my sake enough Kakashi?"

Kakashi gave a double eye smile and said, "You caught that eh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I can't prove you don't have a resistance to it regardless. For what it's worth I believe you though. What do you intend to do now?"

"I was hoping to rejoin Team 7 with Naruto-kun." said Raven with a slight blush.

' _That's interesting….Naruto-kun eh?_ ' thought Kakashi. "They'll probably form a new team given how many new people are petitioning to become ninjas for Konoha. Team 7 was reestablished around Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura were missing nins and Kakashi was dead so when I woke up I got Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha as the new Team 7. They work so well together it's unbelievable. The original Team 7 was a dysfunctional mess."

Raven nodded in disappointment and said, "That it was…."

….

 **Rice Country, The ruins of Oto Village**

The smoldering embers of Oto were no longer a threat to the surrounding area and Jiraiya gave the final orders to pull out. "That's it everyone; pass the order. It's time to head home. The war is over."

There was a cheer throughout the ranks as everyone moved to pack their gear and move out in an orderly fashion. The First and Second Divisions started their trip home. At ninja speeds they would all be home in mere days….

Jiraiya thought about his young apprentice Uzumaki Naruto. ' _There are so many directions to take his training. Knowing him he's picked up some new tricks on his own_.'

"A ryo for your thoughts Jiraiya-sama?" asked Akimichi Choza.

Jiraiya smiled. "I was just thinking about the next generation Choza. There is a hell of a lot of untapped talent there. Make sure you train that boy of yours well."

Choza nodded. "The new Ino-Shika-Cho Team is in good hands with Sarutobi Asuma. You've taken young Uzumaki under your wing as your full apprentice haven't you Jiraiya-sama?"

"Am I that predictable?" asked the Toad sanin. "Given his parents the boy is a blonde ball of potential. It just needs to be brought out."

Thinking of Minato and Kushina; Choza smiled and said, "Naruto is a late bloomer but he's definitely their son. He's always been a good friend to Choji."

"Considering the way he grew up; Naruto is a really good kid." said Jiraiya. "He soaks up new moves like a sponge. He's going to be kage level someday…."

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Training ground 52**

By the time Kakashi and Raven got back to the training grounds that afternoon Asuma and the rest of Team 10 were there and it had evolved into a full blown party to celebrate the war being over and Lee being out of the hospital. There was a noticeable lack of alcohol though because they didn't want Lee to touch the stuff. His Drunken Fist was the _last_ thing they needed. On the other hand there was a plethora of food thanks to Choji's family. Raven smiled softly seeing all of Sakura's old friends having fun together. ' _It's hard not to feel bittersweet. I know all of them but they don't know me_.'

Kakashi soon was 'introducing' Raven to everybody and she sat down to eat at one of the blankets that were set up along with Ino, Choji, Shikamaru and Kakashi. Raven saw Melanie Malachite sitting with Lee talking about taijutsu along with the rest of Team 9. Miltia was sitting with Kiba and Shino and was playing with Akamaru. Kurenai and Asuma were eating with them. Tayuya was sitting with Naruto and his three girlfriends talking about the Uzumaki Clan.

Ino asked Raven, "So how did you and Kakashi-sensei know each other?"

Kakashi answered, "I met Raven some time ago on a mission. We worked together and I taught her a bit. You can imagine how surprised I was to see her so far from her home."

' _Kakashi is sharp as ever_.' thought Raven. "It was coincidence that Kakashi was here because I'd heard he died. I was really shocked to see him alive and well."

"So are you planning to join our forces?" asked Choji. "The Malachite twins and Tayuya are planning to."

"That would be my first choice." said Raven. "I hope Hokage-sama will allow me to become a Konoha kunoichi."

Shikamaru said, "I'd imagine if you have Kakashi vouching for you it will be a big plus."

Ino smiled. "Maybe you can spar with Gai-sensei to gauge your taijutsu skill like Melanie and Miltia did. They are really amazing the way they tag team together."

"I'm mainly a kenjutsu/genjutsu specialist rather than taijutsu specialist." said the red eyed young woman.

Kakashi gave a double eye smile and said supportively, "You should do just fine Raven. That's a very lethal combination."

"I just can't help but notice the resemblance between you and Kurenai-sensei." said Ino enthusiastically. "You even wear similar outfits. It must be nice having those kinds of looks."

Raven felt her face heating up again. "Thanks, but I don't think it's anything but a coincidence." ' _I need to get Naruto-kun's attention but he's busy. I guess Tayuya is his cousin. Who would have guessed Miss Foul Mouth was an Uzumaki?_ ' She looked over at Hinata, Blake and Pyrrha. ' _I know Hinata loves Naruto-kun….Pyrrha and Blake are his teammates but they seem awfully friendly with him_ ….'

Ino grinned. "Say Raven; I noticed you were looking at Naruto-kun. He's quite a guy but he needs better clothes to show off his body. Believe it or not he's really muscular under that baggy orange coat."

"Ummm, I was just wondering a bit about him." said Raven awkwardly. "He seems friendly and funny." ' _Is Ino-chan interested in him too?_ '

Ino's blue eyes lit up. "You ought to see him spar. I never noticed up until recently but he's _really_ strong. I think he gets taller every day. He used to be a real shorty but he's turning into a hunk."

Shikamaru thought to himself, ' _I'd have never predicted this. Ino has plans to give poor Naruto a makeover. What a drag. Perhaps I should tell him to run while he still can_.'

….

Tayuya laughed, "What the fuck? You seriously graffitied the Hokage Monument? That's a riot!"

The orange loving ninja said, "It was my most epic prank."

"Naruto-kun did it in broad daylight too." said Hinata giggling. "The chunins and ANBU chased him for three hours before Iruka-sensei finally caught him."

"Awesome! My cousin is as nuts as I am!" said Tayuya. "Bwahahaha!"

Melanie came over and said, "Tayuya; will you play your flute for us? I was telling everyone how good you are."

Tayuya looked surprised and asked, "You want me to cast a genjutsu?"

The elder Malachite twin face palmed. "No, play us some music!"

Tayuya chuckled and said, "Okay, I can do that." She soon had a very danceable tune going as the others clapped along. ' _This is a hell of a lot better than Oto_.' thought the redheaded Uzumaki. ' _It's nice just to play me flute just to enjoy it_ ….'

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

As the evening wound down the various Teams started heading home. Blake ended up sneaking off to Naruto's apartment….

 _Flashback…._

 _Anko was talking to Blake in a whispered tone. "Looks like you're going to need this tonight." said Anko as she handed Blake a tablet. Blake was very puzzled and Anko whispered, "It will keep you from getting pregnant. They're used on seduction missions."_

 _The feline faunus girl's amber eyes widened and she broke out into a blush. "Anko nee-chan!" she whispered in shock._

 _The Snake Mistress said quietly, "Trust your nee-chan. I'm not judging you Blake-chan. You're old enough and I can tell by the look in your eyes that you want him. There's nothing wrong with it."_

 _Blake swallowed hard and looked over at Naruto. She felt herself sweating….Making her decision the cat eared girl took the tablet and whispered to Anko, "Don't wait up for me nee-chan."_

 _Anko nodded and left Blake to her own devices…._

 _Flashback end_ ….

Blake took a deep breath and knocked on Naruto's door. A few moments later Naruto answered the door and saw Blake in the hallway looking at him with smoldering amber eyes. The orange loving ninja had only gotten home a minute ago and had his jacket and sandals off. Blake whispered, "Naruto-kun…." and kissed him with so much passion that his very soul ignited. Naruto pulled her into his apartment and closed the door behind her. He pinned her against the door and gently ran his hands through her midnight hair and ground himself into her as he returned her fevered kiss.

Naruto was totally lost in a haze as she started to pull his shirt off between kisses. The pair was in the process of undressing each other as they kissed and licked each other. Blake gasped as Naruto's mouth made contact with her left breast and his tongue swirled around her areola. Naruto trailed kisses down to her navel and back up to her right breast. Then the blonde trailed his tongue from there up to her chin and she gripped his cheeks and forced her tongue into his mouth….

The blonde ninja scooped her up before he carried Blake back to the dark bedroom half undressed and he lowered her to the bed. She'd kicked her shoes off by then and was struggling with his pants. Finally she rolled over on top of Naruto and stripped her remaining clothes off in front of him. His mouth was completely dry as he stared at his cat eared girlfriend's radiant form on display in front of him in the moonlight. " _Body of an angel_ …." he thought aloud. She kissed him again as he kicked his pants the rest of the way off.

The two teens were completely lost in each other as their heated eyes met. Blake's nails gently grazed her lover's hips as she pulled his boxers off of him leaving nothing but burning flesh in contact. Naruto pulled her into his lap and they ground their bodies together as she felt his hardened manhood making delicious friction against her wet heat. She pushed him back so Naruto was flat on his back. He gasped with wide eyes as Blake lowered herself and started licking and stroking his manhood. He was on the edge of madness as she took his length in her mouth and started working magic with her white hot mouth and tongue. Ten minutes later Naruto exploded and saw stars as he filled his beautiful amber eyed girlfriend's mouth with his essence. She showed him her tongue before she swallowed and then proceeded to lick him clean….

Naruto regained his breath as she smiled down at him hungrily. He looked up and whispered, "Let me take you Blake-hime…."

She ran her hands erotically over her glorious body and asked heatedly, "How do you want me?"

Naruto sat up and gripped her hips before he started trailing hot kisses down her incredibly smooth body again and finally tasted his prize. He inserted two fingers in her tight heat as he lapped at her womanhood until she saw stars and climaxed as well. It took a few minutes for her heart to stop hammering in her chest and she rolled over on all fours and wagged her sumptuous rear at him. "Take me this way Naruto-kun…." she purred lustfully.

The blonde ninja was impossibly hard at the amazing view and it took all his willpower to not bury himself hard and fast to the hilt in her waiting body. Naruto slowly entered her tightness and gradually started thrusting into her as she moaned in time with his pounding. They climaxed together for the first time and were both shaking from the aftershocks. Blake panted out, "Let me on top this time." Naruto watched drooling as his cat eared mate mounted him and started riding him hard. She was lost in lust as Naruto gripped her hips and started thrusting up in time with her. She came down and moaned as she had her third orgasm of the night. When she clenched down on Naruto's manhood he joined her in ecstasy once again….

It wasn't until hours later that the two young lovers had tried several different positions and were too exhausted to continue. They curled up completely sated in each other's arms….

….

Naruto cracked one tired eye open as the sun rose. He was flat on his back and looked down. He saw Blake's cat ears sticking up out of her midnight tresses. She had her face buried in his chest and the sheets were kicked off the both of them leaving their nude forms bare in the morning light. The feline faunus girl was snuggling into him for warmth and Naruto had his arms around her. Naruto silently made a shadow clone that put the sheets back over the two lovers. Feeling Blake relax Naruto dispelled his clone and curled up closer with Blake before he fell back to sleep….

….

Blake woke up some time later feeling warm and content. Her amber eyes were bright and she smiled widely as she felt Naruto's arms around her. Gently cupping Naruto's cheek she awoke him with a warm, deep kiss that he reciprocated after a few seconds. "Good morning Naruto-kun." said Blake as she looked into his blue eyes and smiled again.

Naruto returned her warm smile and said, "Good morning Blake-hime. He gently traced her cat ears with his index finger and said, "You are so beautiful. Last night was amazing."

She nuzzled him and said, "You were wonderful. I'm very happy." He gave her a toothy grin and she giggled. "Let's lie here and relax a while Naruto-kun. We have no practice today so sleeping in won't hurt."

For now they were in total bliss….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, I didn't get quite as far as I'd have liked but I ran out of room. Next chapter we'll see the Konoha Divisions return home finally and how some of the new faces get integrated into the ninja forces. A new arc is in the works and hopefully we'll be able kick it off in full then. See you next time. Blue out. 5/31/17


	24. Chapter 24

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm currently in the middle of a very frustrating job hunt so updates will be infrequent. For those of you interested; I posted a new Naruto/Wonder Woman one shot called _**Naruto and the Godkiller**_ _._ I also gave **Genokiller** permission to do a "reading" version of this story so if you like reading type fics then feel free to check it out. Here is chapter 24. Enjoy!

Quote: _"YES! I'm so edgy and cool; I'm practically a rock star already!" -Yang Xiao Long at the idea of starting a girl band -RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 _Naruto cracked one tired eye open as the sun rose. He was flat on his back and looked down. He saw Blake's cat ears sticking up out of her midnight tresses. She had her face buried in his chest and the sheets were kicked off the both of them leaving their nude forms bare in the morning light. The feline faunus girl was snuggling into him for warmth and Naruto had his arms around her. Naruto silently made a shadow clone that put the sheets back over the two lovers. Feeling Blake relax Naruto dispelled his clone and curled up closer with Blake before he fell back to sleep…._

 _…._

 _Blake woke up some time later feeling warm and content. Her amber eyes were bright and she smiled widely as she felt Naruto's arms around her. Gently cupping Naruto's cheek she awoke him with a warm, deep kiss that he reciprocated after a few seconds. "Good morning Naruto-kun." said Blake as she looked into his blue eyes and smiled again._

 _Naruto returned her warm smile and said, "Good morning Blake-hime. He gently traced her cat ears with his index finger and said, "You are so beautiful. Last night was amazing."_

 _She nuzzled him and said, "You were wonderful. I'm very happy." He gave her a toothy grin and she giggled. "Let's lie here and relax a while Naruto-kun. We have no practice today so sleeping in won't hurt."_

 _For now they were in total bliss_ ….

….

Chapter 24

 **Southwest Fire Country, Douindo Village**

A lone ninja stood among the remains of the Douindo Village Gates laughing. In his hand he held a glowing green, teardrop shaped emerald about the size of a child's fist. "It's all so simple!" he said manically. "With the Douindo Emerald I can control these black creatures from over in Rain Country and level whoever I want." A beowolf howled in the distance while a gorilla like beringel beat its chest in the town square. Ursas prowled about looking for survivors of the doomed village. There were none to be seen….

He chuckled, "They call these Kurokami (Black Gods) back in Ame but to me they are merely servants! Bwahahaha! That makes me the king of the gods!"

….

Shoda Tadao and his wife Shoda Chokichi looked back and saw the wreckage of their home village as they quickly moved away. "Bishamon is insane." said Chokichi with tears in her eyes. "To think we saw him as a hero years ago."

"He's lost his mind. We always knew he coveted the Emerald but he destroyed all we know for it." agreed Tadao. "We need to go to Konoha. Bishamon and his demons have to be destroyed…."

….

 **Fire Country, The Village of Konoha**

The First and Second Divisions came marching into the village that afternoon and received a huge hero's welcome. All of Konoha was in a festive mood and the genin teams were among those cheering. Kakashi was watching over Team 7 to make sure they didn't get too rowdy but found himself caught up in the spirit of things as well. He did note that Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha were sitting awfully close together. Sitting near them was Raven Branwen who kept stealing glances at Naruto.

Naruto had a vulpine grin on his face and said, "This is some party Kakashi sensei! I'll have to go down and greet Jiraiya-sensei once the crowds break up a bit."

Kakashi smiled under his mask and replied, "That may take awhile Naruto. The war is over and the whole village really needs to blow off some steam."

ANBU was very active watching over the proceedings to make sure no Oto saboteurs were there. As it turned out things remained peaceful. Pyrrha soon went down to greet Yamanaka Inoichi along with Ino and Ayano.

….

It wasn't until well into the night that the celebrations wound down. There had been many heartfelt greetings and families reunited. Naruto briefly spoke with Jiraiya and they agreed to meet up at training ground 52 the next afternoon to discuss his training. The blonde ninja was very happy and managed to steal a couple of dances with all three off his girlfriends which made the whole evening worthwhile to him. By the time Naruto got home late that night he was more or less high on life….

….

 **Hokage's Office**

Early the next morning Sarutobi Hiruzen was more than happy to start giving the orders to demobilize. The show of force and crushing Oto had done a great deal to assure that Suna wouldn't be starting any trouble soon. The Kazekage Rasa had already sent diplomatic envoys to arrange a new alliance. Koharu and Homura were kept busy with clerical duties. ' _I need to retire those two once everything is demobilized….I could stand to retire myself. There are still so many things to do though_ ….'

Jiraiya soon arrived to submit his reports on the war and who he recommended for promotion, commendations, etc. Soon the old sensei and student were talking about a certain orange wearing blonde. "Naruto-kun has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few weeks Jiraiya. I've checked in on the boy using my telescoping technique and he and his teammates work like a well oiled machine." said the aged Hokage. "You should look over Kakashi's mission reports. That aside though, we have a new problem; the Creatures of Grimm."

"I saw the memorandum that Kakashi put out." said Jiraiya in a dark tone. "Remnant must be some kind of hell to spawn such creatures."

"It does seem to be very bleak." agreed Sarutobi. "We need to start scouting and figure out how they are arriving."

"The people or the creatures?" asked the Toad Sanin.

"Both." replied the Hokage. "Your group found two more people so that gave us a total of six plus Kakashi found another making seven. She's approximately the same age as the others."

Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow. "So who is she?"

"Her name is Raven Branwen and apparently she somehow is connected with Haruno Sakura." explained the Hokage. "Kakashi has her keeping things quiet because of Sakura's status as a missing nin."

Now Jiraiya was interested. "Can she be trusted? She may have information on Orochimaru."

"That has yet to be determined but Kakashi believes that she is." answered Sarutobi.

"Does Naruto know?" asked Jiraiya.

The aged Hokage shook his head. "Only you, I and Kakashi know. We're keeping it that way for now…."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Naruto arrived a bit early for morning training having run his laps around Konoha. Pyrrha, Blake and Kakashi arrived in short order. "Does everyone have their bokkens?" asked Kakashi with a double eye smile. "After the last few days of festivities we've got to work twice as hard today." Seeing the eager gleam in the eyes of his students Kakashi said, "Let's begin!"

Naruto unholstered his bokken just in time to block an attack from Blake who was grinning eagerly. Pyrrha locked blades with Kakashi and the four way fight was on. Naruto found himself doing much better with a bokken since he didn't have to worry about hurting the others as much. Team 7 transformed into a group of blurs to any bystanders nearby….

….

Hours later all of Team 7 was hot, sweaty and tired from a morning of sparring out in the heat of the sun. They were all sitting under the big tree on Training Ground 52. Kakashi said, "Let's go get some lunch Team. Who is up for sushi today?"

Blake shot up and said, "We've already rested enough! Let's go to the sushi place for lunch."

Pyrrha chuckled and said, "You recovered remarkably fast Blake-chan."

Soon Team 7 was headed back into the village with Blake in the lead….

….

 **Konoha Market District**

Naruto sat down at the sushi restaurant to hold a table with an umbrella while his teammates ordered the food. That was when he heard the familiar voice of Yamanaka Ino. "Naruto-kun! Did you just get here?"

The blonde ninja turned and saw Ino sitting at a table with their new friend Raven Branwen. The Yamanaka heiress said, "Come on Raven; let's sit with Naruto-kun."

….

By the time Pyrrha and Blake came over with the food Ino was at full steam talking about Naruto's wardrobe…."You need something to show off your body more Naruto-kun!" said Ino enthusiastically. "We need to brainstorm."

Pyrrha mentally groaned to herself and Blake grit her teeth. Kakashi trailed behind stifling a chuckle at the whole situation. ' _It seems Naruto's popularity is growing_ ….' thought the silver haired jonin amused.

Soon all of Team 7, Ino and Raven were eating together. "So how are you liking Konoha so far Raven?" asked Kakashi.

Raven was looking over at Naruto and blushed slightly knowing Kakashi had caught her. "I like it so far Kakashi. I'm going to get my review for my kunoichi application later today. I wonder how many others are."

"I'm sure there are several but I'm going with you to see the Hokage." said Kakashi with a double eye smile. "After all we knew each other already."

"That should be a big plus for you Raven-san." said Naruto glad that the subject had changed from his clothing. "I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will be a big help."

"I'm sure he will." agreed Raven.

….

 **Hokage's Office**

"I'm assigning you both as probationary genin kunoichis on the recommendation of ANBU Hawk." said Hiruzen to the Malachite twins. He presented each of them with standard Konoha forehead protectors.

Both Melanie and Miltia smiled at each other before bowing the aged leader. "Thank you Hokage-sama." they chimed as one. It was obvious they were both very excited.

Sarutobi smiled and said, "You'll be on the same team due to your unique status as tag team taijutsu specialists. The Team sorting will be later. Right now we need to get you sworn in as citizens of Konoha."

….

The twins soon came out of the Hokage Tower looking both happy and relieved. They saw their friend Tayuya there sporting her new Konoha chunin gear and forehead protector. She grinned at them. "I see you two made it too."

"We're still undergoing therapy but we are probationary genins now." said Melanie.

"Have you been assigned to a team yet?" asked Tayuya.

Miltia shook her head. "Hokage-sama said we'd be on the same team regardless."

"We should all celebrate since we all made it!" exclaimed Melanie.

Miltia nodded enthusiastically. "Let's go back to the Hyūga Compound and talk to Hinata-sama. Maybe we can party with Team 8 and Team 9."

"The pair of you just want to see Kiba and Lee." said Tayuya with a smirk. Seeing the twins burst into identical blushes the flute player laughed. "You two are so easy to tease…."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

That afternoon Naruto and Jiraiya were sparring so the Toad Sanin could gauge the growth of his apprentice. Blake and Pyrrha were watching from under the big tree. They both noticed that Naruto was going all out against Jiraiya and wasn't holding back at all. The orange wearing ninja was knocked back only to create a sealess group of shadow clones to renew the assault. After about thirty minutes of straight hand to hand sparring Naruto was demonstrating his arsenal of wind jutsus as well as his one handed rasengan.

"Typhoon release is something I've been studying in my spare time." said Jiraiya. "The exercises for it include sitting outside in storms and bending the wind to your will. It's called ' _the art of becoming one with the wind_.' I'm going to read up on it more now that I'm back in Konoha. I have no doubts that you'll master it someday Naruto but it's going to take some time." Then Jiraya said, "Let's see this gunblade of yours. It sounds interesting."

Naruto handed over the (unloaded) Shear Trigger. Jiraiya tested the weight and balance of it and said, "This is really unusual. I'm no kenjutsu specialist so stick with your teammates to learn how to be proficient with it." Then the Toad Sanin got a gleam in his eye. "So show me how it works Naruto." he said with a grin….

….

 **Hokage's Office**

Raven Branwen was sitting in front of the Hokage along with Kakashi. Hiruzen was smoking his pipe calmly as he listened to Raven's situation. "So you have Haruno Sakura's memories but her inner persona has been eliminated." Seeing Raven nod the Hokage said, "If you agree to submit to a mind walk you will be assigned to a new genin cell with a new sensei. The best option here is to list Haruno Sakara as deceased; wouldn't you agree?"

The red eyed young woman nodded and said, "The death of Sakura's parents killed her inside. I'll cooperate with Yamanaka Inoichi when he's ready to do the mind walk."

"He just got back from the front so we'll wait a couple of days." said Hiruzen. I'll issue you an extended pass for you to become a kunoichi and full citizen of Konoha. Inoichi will have the final say of course. The fact Kakashi dosed you with a truth drug is the main reason I'm letting you through so easily Raven-san."

"What about Ino-chan and Ayano?" asked Raven. "Inner Sakura did some terrible things to them."

"Talk to Inoichi about that situation." advised the Hokage. "He would be best suited to deal with that situation."

….

Kakashi was walking along with Raven after she picked up her pass. "I wonder how Naruto-kun will react to Sakura's death and my background." she thought aloud.

"Naruto is very forgiving but I don't know how he'll react." said Kakashi. "He considered Sakura an enemy after what happened with Yamanaka Ino and Ayano. It's probably something you should discuss with Inoichi as well." Kakashi double eye smiled. "Believe it or not Naruto has really matured in the last few months."

"I can tell just by the way he carries himself." agreed Raven. "I guess he's not the knucklehead I knew anymore." She sounded a bit sad.

The silver haired jonin chuckled and said, "Oh, he still is but you just have to look a bit deeper…."

….

 **Konoha Mission Hall**

Umino Iruka was in an exceptionally good mood having welcomed his lover Tsubaki home over the last couple of days. ' _Tsubaki-chan took the news of Mizuki being, um…._ _ **barbequed**_ _….much better than I expected_.' thought the Academy sensei. ' _Actually when she found out that he broke into her house I think she kind of thought he deserved it. Note to self: Stay on Tsubaki-chan's good side_.' "Ah, Tsubaki-chan…." he thought aloud.

As Iruka mused to himself Naruto came trotting in to visit his favorite former sensei. Seeing no one else was around and Iruka was spacing off Naruto came up and said, " ** _Hey Iruka-sensei!_** _You look_ _ **really**_ _busy!_ " Iruka nearly jumped out of his seat and then growled when he saw Naruto cracking up while pointing at him. "You should have seen the look on your face sensei!" laughed the blonde prankster.

Iruka sighed and then smiled at his favorite former student. "I see you still can't resist a good prank when the opportunity presents itself Naruto."

Naruto pulled up a chair and said, "You were off in la-la land and didn't even hear me come in the room. Wasn't there a lesson about paying attention in the Academy?" Then Naruto grinned deviously. "By the way, who is _Tsubaki-chan?_ "

The Academy teacher coughed and blushed slightly. "Tsubaki is my girlfriend. She teaches at the Academy as well."

The orange loving ninja chortled. "She must be quite a kunoichi to have you so distracted. Is that who you were dancing with at the festival?"

Iruka chuckled. "You have no room to talk. I saw you dancing with Hinata, your two teammates and Ino among others."

Naruto looked confused. "I danced with Ino? I don't remember dancing with anybody but Hinata-chan, Blake-chan and Pyrrha-chan."

"I think you were just having a good time." said Iruka. "Where did you learn to dance like that anyway?"

"Jiraiya-sensei suggested it and Kakashi-sensei helped train Team 7 to improve our coordination and so on." explained Naruto. "It makes a good workout too."

Iruka grinned. "Well, you were really sweeping the maidens off of their feet. Who'd have ever thought you'd turn out to be such a ladies' man?"

"Oh come on sensei!" whined Naruto as Iruka laughed. It felt good just to visit and pass the time….

….

 **Konoha Academy**

The next morning Raven Branwen sat among the other probationary genins. She had a sick feeling of déjà vu as the new probationary teams were called out along with their numbers. "Team 15 will be Raven Branwen, Melanie Malachite and Miltia Malachite." A speech about the Will of Fire and serving Konoha well finished the proceedings as the various senseis arrived to pick up their teams.

The red eyed beauty looked over at her teammates, the Malachite twins. Melanie was dressed in white combat gear and Miltia was dressed in red. They seemed to have a flair for battle dresses.*①

Melanie said quietly, "Well it does make sense to put us all together because we're all from Remnant."

Raven nodded and said, "We also have some idea how each other's fighting styles work."

Miltia asked, "Who do you think will be our sensei?"

"Probably someone with a degree in psychology." said Raven cynically.

"Team 15 with me!" roared a female voice. Raven looked up and saw a person that in the past had chilled Haruno Sakura to the bone. Enter one Mitarashi Anko….

….

 **Training Ground 45**

Anko leaned against a tree with a dango skewer she was picking her teeth with. "I was given you three for several reasons. The first is I'm aware of your circumstances and know about Remnant. The second is I've seen all of you spar a bit so I have some grasp of your capabilities. I also know all three of you are under observation so I can keep you under control if it's necessary." She started spinning a kunai. "Usually genin teams are given a test to see if they can work together but Raven here has some of pinkie's memories so she already knows that. Also, Melanie and Miltia are a tag team. If you couldn't work in synch together your style would not work. Any questions?"

Miltia asked, "How are we going to be tested then Anko-sensei?"

"I'm going to spar with each of you individually to look for weaknesses." explained Anko. "Clearly you all are already beyond genin level from what I saw with you sparring with Maito Gai. Kakashi's Team 7 is the same way. They already are chunin level if not better. I aim to make you three the same. We also have to coordinate with the Yamanakas so you three girls are sure to have your heads on straight."

"So is it our sanity or our fighting skills you are going to be watching?" asked Raven. "As I recall you were less then gentle."

"You are remembering it from the point of someone who was a weakling Raven." said the snake mistress. "I'm also trained to watch for signs of mental strain because I work in torture and interrogation. Trust me; my job is to push you to new limits but not to break you three. Hokage-sama told me to make Team 15 a success. Of course; that doesn't mean I won't be an evil sadistic bitch either." Her brown eyes turned cold as ice. "Now let's get started….'"

….

 **Hokage's Office**

"The Hokage will see you now." said Hiruzen's secretary Maki. "With the nature of your request I don't know how it will be handled but I assure you Hokage-sama will not be lax about the situation."

Shoda Tadao and Chokichi had arrived in Konoha as fast as they could from Douindo Village and the two travelers were exhausted. They were shown into the Hokage's Office and the aged leader said to them, "I bid you welcome. I've read the synopsis from Maki and I understand that your home village of Douindo was destroyed for the religious artifact there. I cannot tell you how sorry I am to hear this. Please accept my condolences." Sarutobi offered them some tea which the couple gladly accepted. Seeing they'd relaxed a bit Hiruzen said, "Tell me what happened."

Tadao said, "Many years ago a young Rain Country ninja named Bishamon saved our village from a bandit attack single handedly. He did it without thought of reward out of the goodness of his heart. The Douindo Village was on hard times and we had little to pay him with so our monks agreed to give him a shard of the Emerald as a necklace to bring him good luck. After that he came once a year to pray at the altar where the Emerald was kept."

Sarutobi nodded and took down a few notes to look into the Rain Ninja Bishamon.

Chokichi picked up where her husband left off. "About three years ago Bishamon was found outside our village injured nearly unto death and the monks were able to save his life with the blessings of the Emerald. When Bishamon was finally well he was a bit distorted. He came to covet the Emerald for himself but the monks explained that it belonged to everyone in the village so he already had access to it. Bishamon left the village in a rage and swore never to return."

"But he did return." said the Hokage.

"Yes." said Todao. "He returned a little over a week ago leading an army of Kurokami that destroyed the village. We were coming home when we witnessed the destruction. Bishamon claimed the Emerald for himself and we escaped in horror at what he had done. Bishamon has to be stopped. He was a good man but after his injuries he became corrupted and destroyed all that crossed his path…."

The couple broke down in tears after that and it was some time before they calmed down.

….

"Tell me about these Kurokami." said Hiruzen. "If they are what I think they are we need to exterminate them immediately."

"They are black animals of various types with red eyes and bone armor and protrusions." said Chokichi "They are a horror to look at."

The Hokage grimaced. _'It seems that the war ended just in time_.' Hiruzen took out the memorandum that Kakashi and Team 7 created. He showed the pictures to the Shoda couple. "Did they look like any of these?"

Chokichi read the title of the memorandum. "The Creatures of Grimm? Is that what they are called?"

"I'm afraid so." said Sarutobi. "They are supposed to be hostile towards all humans so it is quite a feat this Bishamon controls them. For the good of Fire Country we're going to have to wipe him and the creatures with him out. We also need to reclaim the Emerald."

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto and his three girlfriends were having lunch together while they were off duty. "I'm afraid that Ino is right in a sense Naruto-kun." said Hinata. You've gone through a growth spurt and a outgrowing your uniforms. There are a lot of options. I think we can find something in orange that you'll like."

The blonde ninja sighed. "I guess you are right Hinata-chan. We should go shopping as much as I hate to."

Pyrrha asked, "Is it because of Kyubi?"

"Shopkeepers often chased me out when I was a kid." explained Naruto. "I'd just as soon not give them my business."

Blake growled, "People are cruel. We'll go with you Naruto-kun."

….

 **Konoha Market District**

Green Leaf Clothiers was a new ninja equipment store and the retired kunoichi running it seemed friendly enough. Her name was Eriko and didn't seem to have any bias against Naruto. "I've got track suit style uniforms but I don't have any bright orange." said Eriko. "Most ninjas prefer darker colors or camouflage colors. Let me look in the back."

"At least we got you all new mesh Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha. "It was reasonably priced too."

Eriko soon came out with something that Naruto liked. She said, "I've got these in black and a burnt orange. Will that work?" *②

It took a couple of hours to get all of Naruto's new gear but he seemed pleased and his girlfriends all approved. Donning a new black headband and black ninja sandals Naruto was set at least until he started growing again….

….

"Let's go over to see Tenten and drop off these seals to add to your ammunition for the Shear Trigger." suggested Pyrrha. "I'll bet she's already got the first load of bullets ready for it."

Blake nodded. "That's a great idea. I need to pick up some shurikens anyway."

As expected, Tenten was excited to see Team 7 and Hinata when they came into her shop. "Hey guys! Here to pick up the ammo?"

Naruto grinned. "Yes we are. We brought the seals for the special bullets as well."

Tenten was soon examining the small disk shaped seals. "This is superb work guys. I'll affix these to the base of the special bullets over the next few days with chakra solder. Let's take the gunblade out back and test it out." The weapons loving girl soon led the group out to the back where her target range was. Naruto handed over the sheer trigger and Tenten noticed something odd. "A screw head is sticking out. I hope the Shear Trigger isn't vibrating itself apart. Let's go back inside."

The weapons mistress went back inside and carefully disassembled the Shear Trigger's handle and gun mechanism. "Not good." said Tenten. "The frame has stress cracks. The blade and firing mechanism are much better workmanship than the grip and mount. Two different people made the blade and hilt. I need to forge a new frame and hilt for this Naruto." She showed the hairline cracks to Naruto. "If you keep using it those tiny fractures will shatter and likely injure or kill you in the process. This weapon isn't safe to use as it is."

Naruto grimaced and said. "Can you repair it?"

Tenten nodded. "I'll have to rebuild it. It won't be cheap."

Hinata smiled. "I'll cover the costs." Naruto was about to say something but Hinata said, "I bought Pyrrha and Blake's weapons. I want you safe."

"Thank you Hinata-chan!" said Naruto.

Blake asked, "Tenten, do you have a piece of paper? I have an idea to make the Shear Trigger even better than new."

"How so?" asked Tenten.

"A friend of mine had a gunblade that transformed completely from a gun into a sword." said Blake. "She used it for melee and long range sniping. It was a superb weapon." *③

The weapons loving girl soon had a grasp of the design from Blake's basic drawings and began to make engineer's drawings based upon the sketches. Her eyes seemed to light up with an inner fire. "This design is awesome! It could really work! Dad; take a look at this!" she called.

Tenten's Father came out of the back and whistled at the design that his daughter presented him with. After the situation with Sheer Trigger was explained he nodded and said, "This new design is better in every way. Even the way its grip is designed is an improvement. You'll find that this design will put a lot less strain on your wrists Naruto."

"So the blade and the firing mechanism will be the same but everything else will be brand new?" asked the orange loving ninja. Seeing Tenten and her Father nodding emphatically Naruto asked, "How long will that take to make the new Shear Trigger?"

Tenten smiled and said, "It will take about a month including bench testing. Like the Gambol Shroud it will take some design tweaking to get it just right. On the positive side though, you already have the blade which is the most time consuming to make. She picked up the Shear Trigger's blade and tested the weight in her hands before going over to a rack with several bokkens. After checking a few she picked a heavy bokken and said, "Use this to practice for your new blade. It's on the house."

….

 **Hokage's Office**

The next morning Hiruzen was addressing Kakashi, Kurenai and Anko. "Teams 7 and 8 will be going on a Grimm extermination mission. Raven Branwen and Mitarashi Anko will be joining as well. You are the only groups with experience fighting the Creatures of Grimm. I want them eliminated. We also need to reclaim the Emerald from Bishamon."

The three jonins were looking over their mission orders. Anko asked, "What do we know about this Emerald other than it's a religious artifact? What if it actually attracts these creatures?

"If it's necessary, destroy the Emerald." said the aged Hokage. "I'm leaving that decision in Kakashi's hands. It may be nothing but a large jewel. Whether or not it has 'mystical properties' is debatable. I've included the history of Douindo Village and the Emerald in your mission dossiers. Suffice it to say the people that founded Douindo Village found the Emerald while mining and took it as a sign of good fortune. The decided to build Douindo Village around that site back in the Warring Clans Era. The Village was always peaceful because it had no resources of note and no strategic value. It was actually quite a shock to hear it was wiped out."

"When do we leave Hokage-sama?" asked Kurenai.

"As soon as you are ready." said Hiruzen. "Good luck and good hunting. You are dismissed."

….

POSTSCRIPT:

*① Their new battle dresses look simpler like Weiss Schnee's dresses. I.E., no feathers and accessories hanging all over them. They do retain the battle claws though.

*② This is Naruto's Shippuden outfit in a burnt orange color.

*③ The new design is based on the Blazefire Saber used by Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII. It fully transforms from a sword into a gun. Its color scheme is black and silver however.

And so we kick off The Emerald Arc. There will be quite a bit of action in this one but hopefully we'll be able to fit in some good character development as well. See you next time. Blue out. 7/24/17


	25. Chapter 25

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is chapter 25. Enjoy!

Quote: _I-It's society's fault! I'm young and impressionable! Video games made me do it! –Ruby proclaiming her innocence -RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 ** _Hokage's Office_**

 _The next morning Hiruzen was addressing Kakashi, Kurenai and Anko. "Teams 7 and 8 will be going on a Grimm extermination mission. Raven Branwen and Mitarashi Anko will be joining as well. You are the only groups with experience fighting the Creatures of Grimm. I want them eliminated. We also need to reclaim the Emerald from Bishamon."_

 _The three jonins were looking over their mission orders. Anko asked, "What do we know about this Emerald other than it's a religious artifact? What if it actually attracts these creatures?_

 _"If it's necessary, destroy the Emerald." said the aged Hokage. "I'm leaving that decision in Kakashi's hands. It may be nothing but a large jewel. Whether or not it has 'mystical properties' is debatable. I've included the history of Douindo Village and the Emerald in your mission dossiers. Suffice it to say the people that founded Douindo Village found the Emerald while mining and took it as a sign of good fortune. The decided to build Douindo Village around that site back in the Warring Clans Era. The Village was always peaceful because it had no resources of note and no strategic value. It was actually quite a shock to hear it was wiped out."_

 _"When do we leave Hokage-sama?" asked Kurenai._

 _"As soon as you are ready." said Hiruzen. "Good luck and good hunting. You are dismissed."_

….

Chapter 25

 **Fire Country, Konoha Village, Training Ground 9**

Early in the morning Miltia and Melanie Malachite stood in front of their temporary sensei Maito Gai. Gai was in his thinking pose with his thumb rubbing his chin. "I believe your sensei Anko is correct. As a tag team you are quite formidable but individually you both rely too much on one style. You each need to learn to use _both_ your hands and feet with equal proficiency. Nothing would throw off an opponent like suddenly changing stances and doing the exact opposite of what they are expecting in battle. You would each gain a huge advantage out in the field."

Both girls looked thoughtful at learning each other's moves and Gai said, "First we need to teach you the taijutsu moves to incorporate into your arsenal and then we can see about getting some proper hand and foot blades for both of you. I'm confident that we can stoke your _Flames of Youth_ to new levels. What do you say?"

If it will help us down the line then I'm all for it." said Melanie.

Miltia nodded in agreement. "Let's do this!"

"Then let us begin!" said Gai taking the nice guy pose….

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

It was late morning and Naruto and his byakugan hime were _very_ busy. They had been since that morning when Hinata came to his apartment with some racy intimates under her battle dress that Naruto was only too happy to relieve her of….Things heated up from there. Now Hinata was on top of her man in the 69 position. The blonde thought to himself as he feasted on his girlfriend, ' _Hiashi would be_ _ **pissed**_ _if he knew the parts of Hinata-chan that I've been kissing_ -' Then he howled like an animal as the incredible felatio Hinata was giving him drove the blonde ninja completely over the edge. Hinata ground herself into his mouth hotly before she joined her lover in ecstasy seconds later.

Hinata was panting heavily as Naruto spun her around so she was under him again where he could make love to her once more. Hinata licked her lips and smiled as Naruto entered her and started thrusting rapidly once again. ' _Oh god he's an animal!_ ' "Take me again Naruto-kun….!" she said with wild eyes. As they spun into a lover's clinch Hinata rolled on top of her boyfriend once more as they climaxed as one….

The two lovers were panting as the sweat rolled off their bodies onto the soaked sheets below. Hinata smiled down at him and said, "I love you Naruto-kun. We should have done this sooner." There was a knocking at the front door and she added, "Ignore it. Nobody is home."

Naruto nodded and pulled her down for another impassioned kiss and said, "I love you Hinata-chan. Ready for the next go 'round? I don't want to stop until our legs give out!"

She giggled and said, "Let's go till are _bodies_ give out!"

Then they heard a loud banging at the door and Naruto growled, "God damn it!" He made a shadow clone and said, "Get the damn door!"

The naked clone looked annoyed but henged into some clothes and went to answer the door. The door banged again and the clone opened the door irritably and growled angrily, " ** _What_** do you want?!"

There stood Kakashi giggling uncontrollably as the heavy scents of sweat and sex combined wafted out through the doorway. "Sorry to interrupt Naruto but Team 7 has a mission with Teams 8 and 15. Pack for three weeks and meet me at training ground 52 in two hours." Then the jonin chortled, "I hope you are using plenty of protection!" He then body flickered away before the angry and embarrassed clone could throttle him.

Naruto's clone closed the door and locked it before he dispelled….

….Back in the bedroom Naruto groaned having received the memories of his clone. "Damn it Kakashi-sensei….we have a mission Hinata-chan. Teams 7, 8, and 15 have to meet at training ground 52 in two hours. We need to pack for three weeks."

Hinata sat up giving her boyfriend a glorious view of her beautiful body. She sighed and said, "What a turn off." She leaned down and kissed Naruto passionately once again before she said, "Let me use your shower before I head home to get my combat gear Naruto-kun."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Two hours later Team 7, Team 8 and half of Team 15 were present for Kakashi to brief them about the Emerald and the Creatures of Grimm involved. "….And that is the situation we are dealing with. The Malachite twins aren't ready to fight Grimm yet but Raven and Anko certainly are. Are there any questions?"

"How many Creatures of Grimm does this Bishamon person have?" asked Pyrrha. "It could make a huge difference in our tactics."

Kurenai answered, "At this point we don't know. He obviously has enough to wipe out a small village. Currently we're planning to attach Anko and Raven to Team 8 because Hinata is the only one with experience against Creatures of Grimm on our team. We will adjust our strategy as needed."

"Until we get Douindo Village we won't be able to estimate the full situation." added Anko. "The place may be entirely abandoned. We need to find a trail we can follow if it is."

"The sooner we get there the sooner we'll know the situation." said Kakashi. "If we set out within the hour well make it there by tomorrow morning."

….

 **Hokage Tower**

Sarutobi Hiruzen smoked his pipe peacefully in his office as he watched the three genin teams check out of the village front gates using his telescoping technique. ' _Those three teams will show just how effective our forces are against the Creatures of Grimm. Tactics, weapons and formations will all have to be evaluated. Bring them home safely Kakashi_.'

….

 **Training Ground 9**

Maito Gai spent the morning supervising Melanie and Miltia along with Lee fanning their _Flames of Youth_. In the afternoon the twins were thoroughly worn out and relaxed against a tree while watching Gai trained Lee in the Goken style. "It's so fun watching Lee-kun working on his Goken." said Melanie. "I've never seen someone so passionate about the martial arts. He really looks up to Gai-sensei. It's cute."

Miltia smiled at her sister's enthusiasm. "Anko-sensei was right about Gai-sensei being able to overhaul our taijutsu. He's a great teacher….except for the green spandex."

Melanie cringed. "Yes, Lee-kun could use a new uniform."

"Tenten-san said Lee had his hair in a long braid when they first met." said Miltia. "She said that she has a team picture. Would do you think nee-chan?"

"He _would_ look good with long hair." mused Melanie. "I'll have to ask Tenten-san to see that picture."

….

Jiraiya was observing the twin's interactions with Team 9 from a distance. "They seem to be adapting well to Konoha. The white wearing twin Melanie seems to have an infatuation with Gai's disciple Lee." He took some notes for his summary report for the Hokage. ' _These girls are going to be outstanding kunoichis with the right guidance. I believe Anko was right about not taking them on combat missions yet. They don't have the long range endurance they need just yet. On the other hand they are doing well training with Lee now that he is building his strength back. Excellent_.'

….

 **Douindo Village**

The next day the Konoha Teams came up to a ridge overlooking the Village of Douindo….or what was left of it. There were a few buildings left intact but most of the village was in ruins. There had been several fires but they were burnt out leaving scorch marks here and there. The bodies of many villagers were left lying about in various states of dismemberment and decay. It was very obvious that the village was dead. The Temple that formerly held the Emerald enshrined was completely ransacked. Various smaller Creatures of Grimm were prowling about feeding on the carrion.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he said. "Destroy every last creature infesting the village. Team 7 take the north entrance to the village and Team 8 take the south one." The genins quickly spread out into their teams and went to opposite ends of the village to pincer the Grimm in between them. Raven went with Team 8 as planned. The jonins held back in case a major threat emerged.

Team 7 rapidly tore into a group of Beowolves that had the misfortune of being in their path. As Naruto didn't have Shear Trigger he streamed wind along his kunai to use them like a pair of short swords. Pyrrha used her shield to launch Blake skywards where the feline faunus girl spun her body with Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form to harvest up their foes. Anything that made it past the whirlwind of destruction caused by Blake was quickly dispatched by Naruto and Pyrrha. Kakashi nodded in satisfaction seeing his team doing their job well.

Team 8 started at the south end of Douindo Village where Hinata used her Gemini Blades to cut a swath through their enemies. Kiba and Akamaru used their fang over fang jutsu and mowed down a lone Ursa. Shino found himself at a disadvantage because his kikaichū beetles had little effect on the Grimm other than to distract them. He had to resort to kunai at short range. Fortunately for him Raven was there with her O-katana to double team the creatures with Shino and evened the odds. Kurenai and Anko leaped in whenever it was necessary and the creatures were wiped out in fairly short order.

Soon the Konoha group was gathered at the Douindo Temple. Half of the stone building was caved in. "So this is where the Emerald was." commented Naruto as he looked at the wrecked altar. The Konoha ninjas were soon combing the temple remnants for any clues about Bishamon himself.

"He must be some kind of a swordsman from the way these men were cut down cleanly." said Raven. "Grimm are much messier."

Kiba shook his head. "The stench of the bodies is too much in here. Akamaru and I can't scent anybody at all. The trail is cold outside as well."

After about an hour the ninjas came up with little but a shard of the Emerald that Bishamon must have missed.

"Can we use this to track the larger Emerald?" asked Pyrrha.

Shino placed one of his kikaichū beetles on the shard and the insect quickly returned to him. "It seems that my allies can detect this Emerald easily due to its foul chakra. I fail to see how this stone ever became so revered if it tastes that bad."

Hinata sweat dropped. "Not everyone can taste jewels Shino-kun."

"Point taken." replied the bug user.

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hyūga Compound**

Back in Konoha Hyūga Hanabi was sitting down to lunch with her Father Hiashi. "I wonder how Hinata nee-chan is doing on her mission. I can't wait to become a kunoichi like her!"

Haishi smiled softly and said, "I'm sure she is doing well. Hinata has grown so much stronger in the last few months."

"I wonder when they will get back." pondered Hanabi. "She packed for three weeks. That's a long time."

"Some missions take longer than others Hanabi-chan." replied the Clan head. "I know from experience. She'll be back before you know it."

The pair looked outside the dining room window and saw the Clan Elders walk by in their turbans and wigs of various colors. Haishi shook his head in dismay.

Hanabi activated her byakugan and said, "It looks like the Elders have buzz cuts now so you don't get blinded by the glare off their bald heads anymore."

Hiashi stifled his laughter with a cough. (He had an image to protect after all). "I'm sure the Elders are happy that they are making progress."

His youngest shrugged. "Maybe in a few months everyone will stop calling them the _baldness brigade_ and _team toupee_."

' _The Elders will_ _ **never**_ _live this down_.' thought Hiashi with a mental chortle.

….

 **River Country**

Teams 7, 8 and 15 were moving at ninja speeds through the trees following the trail of the Emerald and (presumably) the missing nin Bishamon. They'd seen and exterminated several Creatures of Grimm along the way but the ones the Konoha ninjas eliminated seemed like strays as opposed to being under someone's command. As they travelled through the foliage Hinata switched her byakugan on and of every few minutes to scout around and ahead of the group. Shino was in line behind her following the 'scent' of the Emerald. After nearly three hours of nonstop travel it was nearly dusk and the three teams decided to set up camp.

Soon the group was eating dinner around the fire. "It seems to me that if we are going to be fighting these creatures regularly a more fitting set of weapons might be necessary." said Shino in his usual monotone. "My allies and I are simply not suited to combat Creatures of Grimm. A sword our other bladed weapon would be a tremendous advantage here."

Kakashi nodded. "That was a bit of an oversight on my part. I should have foreseen it Shino. On the other hand finding out your kikaichū beetles can track both the Emerald and the Grimm makes you indispensible on this mission."

KIba added, "As much as I hate to admit it, some metal hand and foot claws like Miltia-chan and Melanie have would be a big plus -especially if we are low on chakra."

"After this mission we will be looking into the right weapons for you two." said Kurenai. "The thought never occurred to me what a disadvantage we would be at hunting these Grimm with just kunai knives. I could use a chokutō or some kind of shot sword myself."

"Perhaps weapons like Team 7 has are in order." said Anko. ""I have a wakizashi back home. It never hurts to have extra options…."

….

Later Naruto settled into his tent with Kakashi. His thoughts were of his girlfriends. ' _Hinata-chan is sharing a tent with Kurenai-sensei so she might as well be under guard and Pyrrha-chan and Blake-chan are sharing a tent with no extra room. Just as bad I'm stuck with Kakashi so I can't sneak out. Damn this sucks_.' Naruto mentally groaned and rolled over to go to sleep. ' _Looks like no goodnight kisses for you Uzumaki_.' thought the blonde glumly to himself.

Guarding by the fire were Kiba and Shino. Akamaru was sleeping close by but the puppy was exhausted. Kiba said quietly to Shino, "Did you notice Hinata-chan has Naruto's scent all over her? So does Blake-san."

"The pheromones coming off both girls and Naruto are very strong." said the insect user with a nod. "Pyrrha-san also seems to have an interest on that note."

"I never pictured Naruto as a player." said Kiba in disbelief. "Who would have guessed?"

Shino shrugged. "Naruto is too honest to do that. As illogical as it sounds I'd estimate the girls are all aware of each other's activities. They all spend time together with each other as well as with Naruto."

"I guess you are right." replied the dog ninja. "Not to mention Naruto isn't smart enough to pull that sort of thing off. Hinata-chan would have killed him by now I reckon."

"I'm forced to agree." said Shino. The bug user cringed thinking of what happened to Mizuki. "It does make me wonder what kind of a relationship the lot of them are in though."

….

Pyrrha and Blake were talking quietly in their tent about the same subject. "Naruto-kun is a wild man in the sack." whispered Blake. "I'm sure he'll make you happy. I know Hinata-chan is as pleased as I am….I can't wait to take him again. I've got all kinds of kinky ideas."

Pyrrha blushed and giggled quietly. "After this mission I'll have to figure out a way to spend the day with Naruto-kun without Ino-chan tagging along."

The two girls laughed silently before they wished each other good night….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hyūga Compound**

Uzumaki Tayuya was sitting back soaking in the branch family baths with Melanie and Miltia Malachite after a hard day's work. "So you girls already have boyfriends picked out? Damn, you two move fast! I haven't had time to even look since I've been busy with my fuckin' chunin duties."

The twins laughed. "There are plenty of fish in the sea Tayuya." said Melanie.

"You probably shouldn't swear so much Tayuya." suggested Miltia. "I think you scare some men off."

"Bah! If they can't handle my mouth they aren't real men anyway!" bellowed the redhead.

The three young women laughed together. _'Life here in Konoha isn't bad at all_.' thought Tayuya to herself.

….

 **River Country, Forest**

The next morning the three Konoha ninja teams got up with the sun and had a big breakfast before heading out after their prey Bishamon. Shino sent out his kikaichū beetles and quickly regained the trail. "He's heading due west towards the Suna Desert region. We can't cross into Wind Country territory with the current political climate."

"And we won't." said Kakashi. "We'll find a Suna border patrol and inform them of the situation before we pull out –if it comes to that."

….

 **Bishamon's Camp**

Bishamon was in the center of River Country south of the capital city of Tani. He was blissfully unaware that he was being trailed by Kakashi's group -otherwise he would have been in a much bigger hurry. The rogue Rain Country ninja was negotiating with a group of ex-Ame and Suna ninjas that called River Country their home base. It only took a small demonstration of the Grimm's power to establish Bishamon's position as the leader in the hierarchy. He now had nine missing nins to bolster his forces that were chunin or lower. It wasn't a massive army but combined with the many Grimm at his beck and call Bishamon considered himself fairly untouchable for now….

….

 **Forest**

Kakashi called for a halt as the Konoha ninjas spotted Creatures of Grimm congregated ahead. Specifically it was a small group of Boarbatusks and a single Death Stalker. "Remember the Boarbatusks vulnerable point is their bellies." said Kakashi as he pointed to the boar like Grimm.

"….And what about the giant scorpion?" asked Kiba hesitantly.

"Sever its tail and then aim for the joints." said Raven. "The armor is very thick so be very careful."

"Be very careful….right." said Anko as she attached an exploding tag to a kunai. "This should get its attention."

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower**

The Third Hokage was going over the report from the day before sent in by Kakashi via bird. "So the Aburame Clan insects can track the Emerald's unique chakra; interesting." Hiruzen thought aloud. ' _It seems that bladed Remnant type weapons or at least swords are a huge plus against the Creatures of Grimm. The traditional four man cells of one jonin and three genins seem to still be solid. That's a plus_.' Hiruzen paused and made a notation. ' _They've only run into small and medium creatures so it's still questionable how effective traditional ninja weaponry would stack up against a larger foe_.'

Pondering a moment the aged Hokage thought aloud, "Hopefully they won't run into any _larger foes_ on this mission…."

….

 **River Country, Forest**

"Death Stalkers are _not_ pushovers; especially ones that are twenty feet long!" said Kakashi as he charged up his raikiri for the second time since the battle started. After it shrugged off Anko's exploding tag the giant scorpion like beast was _seriously_ pissed off. The hapless Boarbatusks of various sizes were mowed down in the crossfire between the ninja's onslaught of jutsus and the Death Stalker's relentless counterattacks with its claws and stinger.

Finally Raven was able to land on the Grimm's back and slice off its tail stinger causing the beast to shriek in pain and anger. The monster scorpion was far from dead though as it bucked Raven off its back. Kiba and Akamaru were bowled over by the back of a pincer that was meant for Kurenai and Hinata who dodged. The byakugan princess countered with a bolt of flame to the creature's face that temporarily dazzled it. It screamed when Naruto rammed a rasengan into one of its mandibles right afterwards and destroyed it along with a chunk of the Death Stalker's head armor and an eye. Blake attacked from the left simultaneously and sliced two legs off at the joints.

With the Grimm flailing and temporarily immobilized Kakashi was able to drive his raikiri through the top of the beast's skull killing it at last. After the creature's death cry the Death Stalker evaporated into black smoke leaving a tiny demolished scorpion body behind….

Anko wiped the sweat off her brow. "Somehow I will never get used to those creatures not leaving behind a carcass. It's downright creepy."

"Is anyone injured?" asked Kurenai.

All of the genins were battered but intact except Raven who was fortunate enough to be untouched. Kakashi, Anko and Kurenai were uninjured as well but everyone was exhausted from the battle. "Let's stop and take a break." said Kakashi. "We're in no condition to fight in another battle as we are." The tired group sat down under the cover of the forest canopy and broke for lunch.

Kurenai fretted a bit over the condition of the genins but after thoroughly checking everyone over it revealed that they were able to go on without trouble. "It's a good thing you kids have become ridiculously tough." said the beautiful red eyed jonin. "Everyone rest. We set out again in two hours."

….

 **Bishamon's Camp**

Bishamon and his newly recruited men were a bit nervous. They'd heard the massive battle between the Death Stalker and the Konoha ninjas in the distance. They also heard the scorpion's death cry from miles away when Kakashi's raikiri finally struck home. The Emerald wielding ninja felt a chill down his spine when he heard the final shriek of his Grimm rearguard that he thought was nigh well unstoppable. ' _What could have killed my Kurokami scorpion?! We have to get moving and fast_.' he thought. Bishamon said with false confidence, "Sounds like one of my pets took out some pursuers. Let's pack up and move out in case someone else heard the battle. I'm not ready for open combat just yet." With the Creatures of Grimm guarding over their flanks Bishamon and his men moved out within the hour….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Training Ground 10**

"….So Pyrrha-chan took off on a three week mission day before yesterday." said Ino. "That's where Team 7 is along with Team 8. They also took Raven-chan and Anko-sensei."

"That's a lot of firepower." said Choji as he munched on some potato chips. "What do you think they are going after?"

Shikamaru sighed as he laid on his back watching at the clouds drifting overhead. "Whatever they are going after we are falling behind. Team 7 in particular has become amazingly strong. I hate to say it but we're going to have to ask Asuma-sensei to work us harder."

Ino and Choji looked at the Nara heir in shock as if he'd grown an extra head. "D-did you just say you wanted to **_work_** Shikamaru?" asked the pleasingly plump Akimichi.

The blonde kunoichi of the team looked up and said, "Well, the sky isn't falling. Are you sick Shikamaru? You asking to work is like the Earth crashing into the sun."

Sitting up from his reclining position Shikamaru said, "We were all there at Lee's party when he got cleared from the hospital. You saw the spars. Team 7 was a whirlwind and Team 8 wasn't that far behind; especially Hinata. Your new friend Raven was very proficient as well Ino. We were left in the dust. The only conclusion I can come up with is they are training much more seriously than we are."

"Well, Naruto-kun did run rings around you and Choji during the spars." said Ino with a giggle.

Choji ate another chip. "Naruto was running rings around _everybody_ Ino; not just us. He's become a human dynamo since he fully recovered from that Oto nin's attack and started eating right and working out….Maybe you're right Shikamaru. We really are falling behind. I guess it's time to put our noses to the grindstone and really work hard."

Asuma was quietly listening to his genins from the tree above them. ' _It seems the kids are getting the right idea at last. Guess I'll make my presence known_.' The Sarutobi jonin appeared in a swirl of leaves in front of his charges. "Good afternoon kids; are you ready for practice?"

Choji gulped and said, "Actually Asuma-sensei; we were hoping to up our training a bit. We're falling behind the other teams."

The jonin grinned. "What do you think Shikamaru; Ino?"

"It's troublesome but we have to work harder." said Shikamaru. "Team 7 and Team 8 are leaving us in the dust. Naruto and Hinata in particular are unbelievable."

Ino nodded, "Yeah, Naruto-kun really whipped Shika and Choji." (Both males glared at her). "It wouldn't hurt to practice a bit harder."

"As long as you kids know what you are getting into." said Asuma. ' _Finally they are getting serious. I'll really have to put them through the meat grinder to catch up with the other teams_ ….'

….

 **River Country, Bishamon's Former Camp**

Kakashi and his team found what was left of the camp Bishamon and his men were using a few hours earlier.

"The scent is still fresh." said Kiba. "They left only two or three hours ago. The scent leads northwest towards the Suna Desert."

Shino nodded. "My allies confirm that the Emerald's chakra is in that direction as well but they are miles ahead of us."

"Is there a chance of us catching them before they reach Suna?" asked Raven. The red eyed beauty had bloodlust in her tone.

"Only if we ran flat out." said Kiba.

Kurenai shook her head. "That won't work. We wouldn't have the energy left to fight them even if we caught up with them. It would be best to coordinate with Suna if we can."

Naruto looked at the map and said, "They could be going northwest to avoid heading due north through Tani. It's a big enough city to repel Bishamon's army of Grimm with all the samurai there."

"Following their trail is really our only choice at this point." said Pyrrha. "We still don't know how many of them there are." said the radiant redhead.

"There were only ten or so men camped here including Bishamon." said Kiba. "I'd guess fifteen at most judging by the camp size."

"They didn't cover their tracks well either." added Hinata. "From the looks of it they grabbed their belongings and ran for the hills."

"They probably heard the Death Stalker die and took off." said Blake. "That indicates to me that the scorpion was a good chunk of their offensive power."

Kakashi rolled up the map and said, "Let's start tracking them then. Hinata's byakugan will give us the edge in figuring out how many Grimm we are hunting as well as Bishamon and his group."

….

 **River Country, Forest**

Bishamon trusted his instincts; they had always guided him well. Now his instincts were screaming at him that he was being hunted but he didn't know by whom. The few Grimm he left behind to slow his pursuers were being wiped out systematically. He could sense it through the Emerald. ' _The Kurokami are most common in Ame territory but the hunter nins in Rain Country would hunt me down like a dog in the dirt. Still, I have to gather more Kurokami somehow. I guess we'll keep heading north_.' One of his underlings had already revolted and tried to run but the Grimm killed him so the rest of Bishamon's 'followers' obeyed….

….

Later, Kakashi was examining the remnants of a dead missing nin from Suna. He was looking in his bingo book. "It's not exactly true that dead men tell no tales. This is Sumare Eiji who was a Suna chunin that went missing five years back. Looks like an Ursa got him about an hour ago. We are closing in on Bishamon's group and they are headed north towards Ame. I guess that is Bishamon's home turf but they want his head there so he must be desperate."

Blake added, "It's that or he has some hidden allies there."

"As viciously as the Rain Ninjas guard their territory I seriously doubt Bishamon is going back there." said Anko. "I've dealt with them before. He may just be skirting the border to head somewhere else like Grass Country further up north."

"We will intercept him long before then sensei." said Shino. "Grass Country is several miles away."

"Wherever he's headed we need to take him and his Grimm out." said Naruto. "As long as he stays in neutral countries we'll have him. We just don't want him to escape into Suna territory."

They sealed up the body of Sumare Eiji and set out once again….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Training Ground 10**

Shikamaru lay down on the grass and said, "I must be insane wanting to work like this."

"Yes, we are totally out of our minds." said an exhausted Choji from the ground.

Ino was leaning against a tree gasping. "This is almost as bad as when I trained with Anko-sensei and Kurenai-sensei."

Asuma was smiling obnoxiously. "You kids are doing great! Meet up here a seven tomorrow morning. I'll see you then." He disappeared in a body flicker.

"Sadist…." muttered Shikamaru.

Ino groaned. "I'll second that description. I can't believe Asuma-sensei is such a slave driver."

"I believe we asked for it." said Choji as he tried to get up and failed utterly.

Team 10 eventually hobbled home dreading tomorrow's training….

….

 **Training Ground 9**

The Malachite twins were worn out for the day. Melanie had her arms aching and Miltia was complaining about her legs. They both were doing identical exercises but for obvious reasons hurt in different areas. Gai said, "Excellent my students. You are adapting quickly. Your style of taijutsu is unique and I believe that will come to full fruition later. Tomorrow we will continue working that muscle memory and start actual sparring so you can use your new moves fluidly. Good work!"

"Thank you Gai-sensei." droned the twins as one. They were exhausted and wanted to do nothing more than soak in the tub and go to bed….

….

 **River Country, Forest**

The Konoha ninjas found a small encampment that had clearly been ransacked by both men _and_ Grimm. Naruto growled at the devastation and said, "What was the point in this mindless destruction? These people had nothing to take….They raided this camp for nothing!"

Raven said, "Sometimes men are just as savage as Grimm are. They don't always need a reason to attack innocents Naruto-kun." ' _I should know_.' she thought sadly.

Kiba said, "I can't scent any survivors. I can only smell Bishamon's group mixed with Grimm." He sighed. "Hinata-chan, can you see anything?"

Hinata activated her byakugan and pointed north. "I see a few Grimm but no large ones. Bishamon's group is still outside my range."

"We'll just have to keep tracking the Emerald." said Anko. "Shino…?"

"I still have the scent Anko-sensei." said Shino. "It is in the same direction Hinata-chan is looking; due north towards Rain Country…."

 _The hunt was still on_ ….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, the Emerald Arc is finally rolling. Bishamon doesn't know what is after him but he's running scared and needs more Grimm to bolster his forces. What will come of that? Back in Konoha Team 10 has decided to get their act together and the Malachite twins are learning under Maito Gai's watchful eye. Next chapter the hunt continues. See you next time. Blue out. 9/7/17


	26. Chapter 26

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: No; I'm not dead. It's just between two jobs it's very difficult to squeeze in time to write. However, I managed to work this in. Here is chapter 26. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Quote: " _WE WILL MELT YOUR BONES!" -Yang; leader of the girl band 'Puns and Roses' -RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 ** _River Country, Forest_**

 _The Konoha ninjas found a small encampment that had clearly been ransacked by both men and Grimm. Naruto growled at the devastation and said, "What was the point in this mindless destruction? These people had nothing to take….They raided this camp for nothing!"_

 _Raven said, "Sometimes men are just as savage as Grimm are. They don't always need a reason to attack innocents Naruto-kun." ' I should know.' she thought sadly._

 _Kiba said, "I can't scent any survivors. I can only smell Bishamon's group mixed with Grimm." He sighed. "Hinata-chan, can you see anything?"_

 _Hinata activated her byakugan and pointed north. "I see a few Grimm but no large ones. Bishamon's group is still outside my range."_

 _"We'll just have to keep tracking the Emerald." said Anko. "Shino…?"_

 _"I still have the scent Anko-sensei." said Shino. "It is in the same direction Hinata-chan is looking; due north towards Rain Country…."_

 _The hunt was still on…._

 _…._

Chapter 26

 **River Country, Forest**

Early in the morning the Konoha teams were cautiously skirting the edge of the River Country/Rain Country border. They were being very careful not to cross over into Ame. Light rain showers had drifted over from Rain Country territory causing the area to mist up and the Creatures of Grimm in the area seemed more numerous. Naruto looked about and reached out with his senses to get a feel of the weather. He came up beside Kakashi and said, "This weather isn't natural; it's laced with chakra Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi motioned to the others to halt and said, "Hinata, your byakugan please…?"

The Hyūga heiress nodded and said, "Naruto-kun is right; this isn't a natural mist….and there are a lot of chakra signatures from the north. I think it's a group from Ame. We are still far out of their visual range though."

Anko hissed, "This rain is a jutsu to track our movements; I've seen it before. We need to conceal ourselves quickly."

Kakashi nodded and said, "How many do you count Hinata?"

"I count at least twenty Kakashi-sensei." replied the byakugan wielder.

"Everybody up in the forest canopy and cover your tracks!" ordered the silver haired jonin. "Move!"

….

Naruto was hidden up in a tree with Pyrrha and Raven watching and listening as the Rain ninjas approached warily. The Konoha ninjas were well concealed in the dense foliage and were wondering exactly what a large group of Ame ninjas was doing outside their territory. The orange loving blonde thought to himself, ' _Ame ninjas are xenophobic and never leave the safety of their borders. Just what the hell is going on here…?_ ' He added chakra to his ears to try and hear the Ame ninjas over the soft rainfall.

"….The people that summoned the Kurokami were right here I tell you! They were moving along at a steady pace and then vanished!" said a short, broadly built Ame ninja. He was wearing a rebreather like his comrades.

"Do you think they rabbited Nagumo?" asked a larger ninja in a baritone voice. "I doubt they saw us coming but…."

The now named Nagumo shook his head. "I would have detected something if they had. The enemy must be nearby Aichi."

Aichi turned and said loudly, "Get Mitsu up here; she's a sensor. If they are close we'll find them and wipe them out." He looked up and around and added, "I don't see anything but trees surrounding us."

….

As the Ame ninjas slowly reconnoitered the area the Konoha ninjas were carefully suppressing their chakra and hoping to avoid combat. Kakashi was assessing the situation. ' _Bishamon summoned Creatures of Grimm out of Ame and the trail led to us. Either he's an expert at misdirection or just got lucky. Unfortunately for us Ame ninjas are fanatics. They won't negotiate with us and they outnumber us two to one….the best thing we can hope for is them giving up and leaving_ ….'

Kurenai was also thinking. ' _I wonder if Bishamon summoned the Creatures of Grimm here and then moved on? We covered the west so that only leaves east back towards Fire Country_.' She hand signaled to Shino who was in the same tree she was, [Which direction is the Emerald?]

Shino focused a moment and simply signed, [East.]

Kurenai frowned. ' _Once again Bishamon has slipped through or fingers_ ….'

….

Below, the Ame ninjas were having an argument. The sensor Mitsu was talking with Nagumo. "You got to drop your tracking jutsu Nagumo! The chakra in the rain and mist is masking the chakra signatures of both our side and theirs!"

"If I drop the jutsu our enemies will escape!" retorted Nagumo irritably.

It looked like a fight was about to break out when Mitsu spotted something. She looked up and saw a glint off of Raven's O-katana hilt and pointed up yelling, " ** _You idiots!_** _There's the enemy right in front of us!_ "

….

 _Everyone was frozen for a second and then all hell broke loose_ ….

….

The closest Ame ninjas unleashed a volley of kunai and senbon needles and Naruto unleashed an overpowered wind cutter jutsu at the same time. Both Aichi and Nagumo bit the dust immediately because they were bisected by the wind blade. Mitsu was fortunate and dived clear. At the same time Pyrrha held up her shield Akoúo̱ as a focal point and created a magnetic wall that deflected the incoming kunai and senbon. Then Raven took the initiative and launched herself into the startled Rain ninjas the second Pyrrha lowered her magnetic shield. Raven beheaded her first target in one strike.

Another Ame ninja tried to get the drop on Raven only to be cut down from behind by Blake with her Gambol Shroud. The cat eared girl seemed to have appeared from nowhere to the Ame ninjas. Then Kurenai cast a wide area genjutsu of multiple vines reaching up and immobilizing the Ame group which caused them to freeze for a few lethal seconds. Kakashi and Anko were soon among them taking them out with kunai strikes.

Naruto was soon locked in a vicious kunai duel with a Rain ninja that wasn't ensnared by Kurenai's genjutsu. The orange loving blonde was knocked back by his opponent only for Pyrrha to leap in and slash the throat of his foe with the Miló in its sword form. Naruto rolled to his feet and engaged another that was aiming for Pyrrha and killed the incoming ninja with a rasengan at point blank range. The body of Naruto's target flew by and distracted the Rain kunoichi Mitsu who was fighting Hinata with water whips. Hinata unleashed a bolt of flame that burned the hapless Mitsu into ash before she could defend herself any further….

Kiba and Akamaru were using the all fours technique and tearing through any Ame Ninjas still standing. The few stragglers left to run were cut down by Shino and Raven….The Konoha ninjas soon stood victorious.

….

Naruto high fived with his teammates and said, "They weren't ready for that multi sided blitz combined with Kurenai-sensei's genjutsu."

Kakashi nodded and said, "Never underestimate the element of surprise team. You did well."

"Everyone did well." said Kurenai. "That first strike was perfectly orchestrated by Naruto, Pyrrha and Raven. Excellent."

Anko had a grin on her face. "Way to go guys. Now let's get out of here and check for injuries. There may be more where they came from. We can't expect another victory that easy."

The tired Konoha group retreated southeast for a brief respite….

….

 **With Bishamon's Group….**

"We're almost to the Fire Country/Rain Country border." said Bishamon to his men. "I was able to summon quite a few Kurokami to help us. We're heading north through Fire Country to get to Kusa territory. It will be safer than Ame. We should be able to take a break there."

His group of missing nins all were in agreement that Grass Country would be better than being near Rain Country. It was (rightly) considered a death trap. They all were spooked by the Creatures of Grimm the Bishamon summoned out of Ame though. Not only was Bishamon the only one that could control the beasts; the things seemed eager to destroy anything even remotely human….including them….

….

 **The Konoha Team's camp….**

The Konoha ninjas set up camp and dressed the minor injuries they had. "So Bishamon headed east back towards Fire Country." said Anko. "They've got to know Fire Country isn't safe so they are either headed towards Grass Country or further north to Hidden Waterfall Country."

That was when they heard a roar and several Ursas arrived. The Konaha ninja teams were once again thrust into battle. Blake was the first on her feet and took the offensive with her Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form. The leading Ursa was caught off guard and lost an arm causing it to stumble. The second Blake was clear Hinata sent a wall of fire towards the Creatures of Grimm only to have it superheated by a wind jutsu from Naruto. Five Ursas were vaporized by the firestorm.

Pyrrha drew her sword and charged the off balance Ursa Blake wounded and finished it off. Directly behind her was Raven that dashed by Pyrrha and slew another Ursa on the fly. The melee exploded after that with every member of the Konoha teams engaging the remaining Creatures of Grimm alone or in pairs. Naruto and Raven double teamed the largest Ursa of the group and defeated it quickly between the wind cutter jutsu and Raven's O-katana. Fifteen minutes later the last of the Creatures of Grimm were slain and the battered Konoha ninjas regrouped.

Kakashi said, "Well that was unexpected; not to mention unpleasant. On the positive side though; everyone performed well against the Grimm."

Kurenai nodded. "We seem to be adapting well." She looked over at Hinata and Naruto. "That firestorm was quite a collaboration jutsu you two pulled."

The bykugan princess smiled and said, "We've meant to try it for a while but I never imagined the first time would be in actual combat."

The three Konoha teams quickly gathered their belongings up from the wrecked camp turned battlefield on set out after Bishamon's trail once again. They felt it was safer on the move at this point.

As they trudged northward Raven was talking with Naruto. "You are doing really well Naruto-kun; it's a shame we aren't on the same team. We seem to work well together."

Naruto smiled and said, "Maybe our teams will train together sometime."

Raven blushed slightly at his grin and smiled. "Sure! Maybe I can show you some sword moves."

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

While Kakashi's group tracked Bishamon; the other genin teams weren't idle. Asuma was running Team 10 into the ground to catch them up with Team 7 and Team 8.

The bearded jonin said, "Alright people, let's take a break!" Ino, Choji and Shikamaru promptly collapsed from running laps around the training grounds.

Shikamaru managed to roll over on his back where he could stare at the clouds above. "Remind me again what possessed me to think up this idea…?"

Choji remained sitting and tiredly pulled out some chips. He said between bites, "Remember how Naruto, Hinata and their teams stomped us during the spars?"

The Nara heir groaned, "Oh yeah; Naruto. How troublesome."

Ino was propped up against a tree. "What do you suppose Naruto-kun is up to right now?"

"Knowing him he's neck deep in trouble." said Choji shaking his head ruefully. "He's always in the thick of it."

The blonde kunoichi said, "Hey! Naruto-kun has matured a lot in the last few months. He's gotten a lot taller too."

Choji nodded. "It's true that he's changed a lot since he nearly got killed."

Shikamaru shrugged. "He's still the same knucklehead, just taller."

"There is more to Naruto-kun than just that!" retorted Ino.

Asuma grinned at his genins. "I guess if you three still have the energy to argue then we'd best get back to training."

Team 10 looked at their sadistic sensei with horror in their eyes as Sarutobi Asuma cackled evilly….

….

 **Hokage Tower**

While his son was torturing Team 10, Sarutobi Hiruzen was reading over Jiraiya's assessments of the many new genin teams formed out of Rice Country refugees. The results were surprisingly positive and the Third Hokage was quite pleased with the results. Most of the new genins were very loyal considering how badly they had it in Oto. Naturally there were a few bad apples that had to be dismissed but overall the program was a success.

On top of that the first diplomats from Suna had arrived to form a new alliance and explained their rather dire financial situation. The Third Hokage had some idea of what was going on already thanks to Jiraiya but the stupidity of the Wind Daimyo regarding his own ninja village astounded Hiruzen now that he could see the actual numbers. ' _This is unbelievable_.' thought the aged Hokage. ' _Suna is in dire straits. We'll need to work out some sort of economic package to get them back on their feet_.'

There was also the issue of the Creatures of Grimm. The Third Hokage had already ordered Jiraiya to have his spy network start looking for information on the creatures. The only place they were well known about was in Ame but for the life of him Hiruzen couldn't figure out why that small country in particular was such a magnet for the beasts. He figured that discussing it with Kakashi once the silver haired jonin returned from his mission was the best option for now….

….

 **Fire Country, Ame Border**

As the missing nins in Bishamon's group travelled towards the relative safety of Grass Country; their Emerald wielding leader released some particularly stubborn and difficult Creatures of Grimm as a rearguard. ' _Those Kurokami will keep anyone from pursuing us_.' thought Bishamon. _'I have to throw off whoever is following us and wiping out my Kurokami. At least the ones I just released won't be bothering me anymore. They were too strong willed to control_.' He pondered to himself. ' _Who knows what kind trouble they will cause…?_ '

Bishamon's group plodded on towards Kusa….

….

 **Fire Country, the Village of Kohan**

Everything had been peaceful until early evening when the Creatures of Grimm came. Unlike the Village of Douindo though, Kohan was fortified as the town was originally built as a military outpost before it grew into a flourishing village. The memorandum from Konoha had arrived days before and the Samurai there took the warning seriously. As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed….

The wooden walls had kept the seemingly endless Grimm assault at bay for hours but the village defenders were beginning to tire….

Kakashi and the others were going to Kohan to resupply when they saw a Goliath in the distance. The elephant like creature was plodding towards Kohan Village in a slow but unstoppable march. "We have to stop that Goliath before it takes down the village walls!" said the silver haired jonin. "Go!"

The Konoha teams took off at ninja speeds and soon were on top of the Goliath that was shrugging off arrows shot at it from the village. I the low light of evening Kakashi's raikiri lit up the battlefield as he struck the mammoth creature's leg with his lightning cutter causing the immense beast to roar in pain and turn towards the ninjas.

The first thing the Goliath saw was Hinata floating above the ground surrounded by rings of fire. As her power came to a crescendo she unleashed it while crying out " ** _Now Naruto-kun!_** "

Naruto was standing below his byakugan hime and unleashed a colossal Great Breakthrough that combined with Hinata's bolt of flame to create a flaming maelstrom that engulfed the huge Grimm.

Hinata fell from the air and landed tiredly in Naruto's arms. She was completely winded and asked, "Did we get it…?"

"No." said Naruto in shock. The enraged, burning Goliath fully turned around bellowing and charged the ninjas looking like a vision straight from the bowels of hell as it stampeded towards them.

"Move Naruto!" yelled Blake as she threw a handful of exploding tags at the Goliath.

Naruto snapped out of his trance and hauled the exhausted Hinata clear. The elephant like Grimm thundered by and completely missed its targets bellowing in pain the whole way.

Raven teleported across the battlefield and used her Iaido technique to hit the same leg that Kakashi already struck. The beast's tough hide was split and its leg gave out sending the burning monster stumbling and careening out of control as it crashed onto its side. Pyrrha ran in front of the Goliath with Miló in its javelin form and pierced the mammoth creature's eye. Slamming her weapon further in with her magnet release the red haired gladiator pierced the monster's brain and finished it off.

The Goliath left behind a huge pillar of smoke as it evaporated in the dimming sunlight….

The rest of the Grimm saw their strongest fall and quickly withdrew to lick their wounds amidst the cheers of the villagers of Kohan. The tired Konoha ninjas slowly regrouped having thrown a plethora of jutsus and weapons at the Goliath and a few of its unfortunate companions. They were exhausted and just wanted to sleep….

Pyrrha recovered Miló and folded it into its sword form. She smiled and said, "We've won a great victory defeating a Goliath! It's a shame I'm too tired to celebrate…."

"We're all too tired to celebrate Pyrrha-chan." said Blake with a minimalist smile. "Let's head to the village."

….

Given the death of the Goliath turned the tide in the battle; the exhausted Konoha ninjas were given a hero's welcome by the people of Kohan Village but were all to worn out to enjoy it too much. The Village Inn gave them lodging for free and the Leaf Ninjas promptly collapsed into bed having fought three major battles that day….

….

 **Kohan Village Inn**

The next morning Naruto awoke with the sun and tiredly cracked his eyes open. He'd been having a nice dream about Pyrrha, Blake and Hinata when he woke up on autopilot to train. He slowly looked around the room where the male half of the ninjas where bunking. Shino was fast asleep and seemingly sleeping at attention (which didn't surprise Naruto in the least) and Kiba and Akamaru were sprawled out asleep in a ridiculous position with Akamaru sleeping in the middle of Kiba's chest. Somehow this seemed appropriate to Naruto as well. When Naruto rolled over he saw Kakashi was already up and was sitting at the small desk in the room with a reading light on.

The silver haired sensei said quietly, "Ah, good morning Naruto. I was just writing an updated report to submit to Hokage-sama. The others are still sleeping if you want to get a bit more rest."

Naruto nodded and laid his head back on his pillow. He said, "This Bishamon character keeps sending Grimm our way and every time we are getting close to him we end up being worn out from battles. There must be some way we can avoid this battle of attrition we are in. But we still don't know where he is heading…."

Kakashi nodded and said, "It's a problem but odds are he's headed towards Grass Country. Kusa is fairly loose with welcoming missing nins if the nukenin in question has something to offer. Bishamon has a lot of power with his control over the Emerald and the Creatures of Grimm. Hidden Waterfall wouldn't be likely to let him in as territorial as they are. The only other place he could go is Earth Country but Iwa hates missing nins as much as we do."

The blonde pondered and said, "Then we need to get information from Jiraiya-sensei on Kusa. We might be able to sneak across the border and ambush Bishamon if we find out his location in advance."

"I'll include a request for information from Jiraiya-sama with my report." said Kakashi. "Good thinking Naruto."

….

Over in the kunoichi's room Blake was already up and discussing things with Anko. The snake mistress said, "Blake-chan, you kids from Remnant are a huge asset. I can't imagine how a normal group of genins would have reacted to that giant scorpion or the Goliath we fought yesterday. They'd probably have run in terror."

Blake gave a small smile. "If that Goliath hadn't been headed straight for this village then we probably could have left it alone Anko nee-chan. They are so big and tough that they really don't react too much."

"Well, once Kakashi hit it with his lightning cutter the huge thing reacted pretty violently." said Anko. "It dwarfed all the other Grimm. It's no wonder they ran after we killed it."

The feline faunus girl sighed. "We were actually pretty lucky. I've never seen a Goliath go down before."

"There is a first time for everything." said Anko. "Do you miss Remnant?"

"I miss my parents and my friends from Remnant but as far as the place itself goes I don't miss the masses of Grimm." said Blake. "I don't miss the racism either….I still have to wonder what the connection between the Elemental Countries and Remnant is though."

"Hokage-sama wonders about that too." said Kurenai joining the conversation.

"Did we wake you Kurenai-sensei?" asked Blake.

Kurenai shook her head. "No, I've been awake for a bit; I just was lying in bed thinking. I wonder if our teams should recover today. Everyone is worn out."

"I'm thinking along the same lines." said Anko. "Regrouping and recovering would be in our best interests. We'll talk with Kakashi once everyone is up."

….

Two hours later the Konoha Teams were gathered after a big breakfast and were discussing their plans. "Our best option is to stay here and wait for information from Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama. We can restock our supplies and weaponry here in Kohan." said Kakashi. "I'm sending out our reports via the aviary so we should hear back from Konoha about Kusa within a couple of hours."

….

 **Konoha, Hokage Tower**

Within the hour Jiraiya was sitting with his sensei regarding Bishamon. "So they think Bishamon is headed to Kusa Sarutobi-sensei?" asked Jiraiya. "It makes sense. I can arrange for one of my informants to meet with them at the Kusa border. All those Grimm moving together would be hard to miss."

The Third Hokage nodded. "Kakashi's group has been fighting nonstop so I agree with his decision to give his genins a rest. Being at full strength before slipping into Kusa is in their best interests regardless. Get your informants on the move Jiraiya-kun. I'll send orders out to Kakashi."

….

 **Kohan Village, Inn**

As Kakashi predicted the fresh orders from the Hokage were in his hands by lunchtime….

 _Kakashi:_

 _Proceed to the Trading Village of Nensh_ _ō inside Fire Country close to the Grass Country border where you will be contacted by an informant of Jiraiya's named Hoippu. Do not look for her as she will find you. Any information regarding Bishamon or the Creatures of Grimm with him has been paid for in advance so it will be a straight information drop. Send out a report to me once you have established a plan of action._

 _-The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen_

….The silver haired sensei rolled up his orders and looked at the map. Once he located the Village of Nenshō on the map he went to tell Kurenai and Anko….

"It's a simple enough plan." said Kurenai as she looked over the Hokage's orders with Kakashi and Anko. "We just head for Nenshō and set up camp there."

Anko nodded. "Nenshō is a trading post. It's as far north as you can go on the Kusa Border. They trade between Kusa, Taki and Fire Country. I've been there a few times on patrols. It's also a major watering hole so probably our informant will be in one of the bars."

"Well, whoever Hoippu is will find us so at least we don't have to scour the town looking for her." said Kurenai.

"We'll set out after lunch then." agreed Kakashi. "We'll easily be in Nenshō by this evening."

….

The genins were on the road heading north towards Nenshō and avoiding the Kusa border where Shino's insects said Bishamon was. Hours later they were north of Bishamon and his forces on the outskirts of Nenshō Village….

"So this is the place." said Kiba as he sneezed. "I can smell the cigarettes and booze from here…."

Kakashi grinned under his mask and said, "That Inuzuka nose is usually an advantage Kiba. Some places it's better to not have a super-sensitive nose though."

"Tell me about it Kakashi-sensei." complained Kiba. "No wonder we Inuzukas don't smoke."

"Buck up Kiba-kun; most bars smell that way." said Kurenai. ' _Though I wish Asuma-kun would quit_.'

….

 **Fire Country, Nensh** **ō Village**

The three Konoha ninja teams entered through the front gates of the small village/trading post. Blake's sensitive ears pivoted about as the many conversations about the genin teams came to light. "What's up Blake-chan?" asked Naruto.

The feline faunus girl shook her head. "A lot of people think we're here to arrest them for criminal activities and are worried."

Pyrrha face palmed. "That's not a good sign. I hope there isn't any trouble."

Anko chuckled and said; "Places like this live and breathe crime so just sit back and enjoy the ride kiddies."

Hinata looked around and saw no one was making any sort of offensive moves on them but the body language of the locals showed the ninjas made them uncomfortable. Several Yakuza looking types were eying the ninjas warily.

"May as well relax." said Raven nonchalantly. "We're stronger than these weaklings."

Shino raised an eyebrow but Kurenai said, "That may be so Raven but we're not here to fight."

Raven just let out a disgruntled sigh…. ' _I guess I should calm down_.'

Anko thought to herself, ' _Raven-chan is itching for a fight. I wonder why_.'

….

As the genin teams explored the small town they saw several illegal deals going on and the jonins spread out and started checking the bars to see if their contact Hoippu would show up.

It wasn't until around nine in the evening that Hoippu showed up and contacted Kakashi in the bar he was sitting in drinking. A slim woman in peasants' clothes sat down by the silver haired jonin and ordered herself a drink. Kakashi saw her discreet hand signal that was code for [Scarecrow?]

Kakashi nodded and signed [Hoippu?]

Hoippu nodded and they went over to a secluded table. She whispered, "Do you have the money?"

The jonin's eyes narrowed and said, "You've already been paid."

"Not enough to cover the risks…." she replied.

"How much?" growled Kakashi under his breath.

"10,000 ryo." said the informer.

If Kakashi was surprised then he didn't show it. "I've got 7,000 ryo and not a bit more." he said as he slid an envelope out of his flak jacket.

Hoippu looked conflicted for a moment and said, "Deal." They exchanged envelopes and the informant quickly left. ' _This had better be worth it_.' thought Kakashi to himself. As the penniless jonin dragged himself out of the bar he saw Naruto talking to Hoippu and she quickly handed off the envelope to the blonde. He counted the ryo bills and shook his head before he waved her off. Hoippu took off like a bat out of hell after that….

Kakashi came up to his male gennin with a double eye smile and said, "What's in the envelope Naruto-kun?"

Naruto said, "It's a few ryo that woman owed me. I've been playing poker to pass the time and several people owe me money.'

The silver haired sensei sweat dropped. "Can I have my 7,000 ryo back?"

Naruto had a flat look. His blue eyes glittered in the low light. "You owe me one sensei." said the orange wearing ninja as he handed over the envelope of cash.

….

The Konoha group was camping outside of Nenshō Village since it was full of thieves. Anko was laughing. "So you fleeced 57,000 ryo from the locals before they threw you out Naruto-kun?! Bwahaha! That's a riot!""

Kurenai looked on in disapproval and said, "What possessed you to go gambling to begin with Uzumaki Naruto?"

Kiba snorted, "Are you kidding Kurenai-sensei? Naruto _never_ loses at cards!"

"I'm forced to agree sensei." said the always logical Shino. "I've seen Naruto play cards since we were small children and he always wins."

Hinata giggled. "Naruto-kun figured he could pay off our mission expenses and then won an additional 20,000 ryo after that."

"I had no idea you were so gifted at gambling Naruto." said Kakashi with a shrug. "We got the information so all's well that ends well I guess."

Kurenai just face palmed as the genins celebrated over dinner….

….

After eating the Konoha ninjas were looking over the information they received from Hoippu. "It seems that Bishomon has set up camp in an abandoned village called Busshu in Grass Country with eight missing nins that are his underlings." said Kakashi. "He has about thirty Grimm with him and is trying to negotiate with Kusa to join their forces as a jonin. Busshu is southwest of us and is probably about three hours from here at normal speeds. I'll write out a report to Hokage-sama and we'll be off at daybreak."

….

Later Raven was sitting up on her turn on guard duty that night along with Hinata. ' _I know Hinata loves Naruto-kun. I wonder about Blake and Pyrrha….What do I do?_ ' She looked at the fire and thought about her life in Remnant and her life here in the Elemental Countries. Making her mind up Raven said to the Hyūga heiress, "Hey Hinata-san; would you like to become friends…? We're both from Remnant and I haven't had a chance to get to know anyone yet except for Ino-chan."

Hinata wasn't expecting such a request but smiled softly. "Well, we are both Konoha kunoichis so why not?" ' _She reminds me of someone but I can't place my finger on it_.' thought Hinata. ' _I wonder who it could be…._ '

POSTSCRIPT:

A little more action this chapter. Bishamon and his little troupe have made it to Grass Country and think they are safe. And Kakashi's unit finally has a fix on them and is closing in. Next chapter will be the Battle for the Emerald. See you next time. Blue out. 11/21/17


	27. Chapter 27

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another chapter out while I still have time. Just for everyone's information I haven't forgotten about Ozpin's reincarnation curse in the actual show. (It's crazy how that turned out a lot like my story). Anyway, since Ozpin went to Kakashi instead of Oscar there has been no need to reveal it (yet). Like all things it's a work in progress. Eventually that factor will come into play. For now just enjoy the ride. Here is chapter 27. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Quote: _Ummm, Can't we all just come together through the power of song? - Mercury Black at the Battle of the Bands - RWBY Chibi_

Last time:

 _After eating the Konoha ninjas were looking over the information they received from Hoippu. "It seems that Bishomon has set up camp in an abandoned village called Busshu in Grass Country with eight missing nins that are his underlings." said Kakashi. "He has about thirty Grimm with him and is trying to negotiate with Kusa to join their forces as a jonin. Busshu is southwest of us and is probably about three hours from here at normal speeds. I'll write out a report to Hokage-sama and we'll be off at daybreak."_

 _…._

 _Later Raven was sitting up on her turn on guard duty that night along with Hinata. '_ _I know Hinata loves Naruto-kun. I wonder about Blake and Pyrrha….What do I do?_ _' She looked at the fire and thought about her life in Remnant and her life here in the Elemental Countries. Making her mind up Raven said to the Hyūga heiress, "Hey Hinata-san; would you like to become friends…? We're both from Remnant and I haven't had a chance to get to know anyone yet except for Ino-chan."_

 _Hinata wasn't expecting such a request but smiled softly. "Well, we are both Konoha kunoichis so why not?" '_ _She reminds me of someone but I can't place my finger on it._ _' thought Hinata. '_ _I wonder who it could be…._ _'_

 _…._

Chapter 27

 **Grass Country, Busshu Village remains**

Bishamon was enraged. His entire plan to negotiate with Grass Country's ninjas had imploded in his face. He was having massive chest pains and the Kurokami were running out of control. They'd already turned on the Kusa jonin and his men sent to negotiate with Bishamon and the missing nins under his leadership fell against the black beasts as well. " _DAMN YOU KUROKAMI!_ I am your master! You _will_ obey me….I-I…. ** _guaAAAGH!_** " Bishamon collapsed clutching his chest and foaming at the mouth….

….

 **Fire Country, near Nenshō Village**

Kakashi led his three teams quietly across the Kusa border. He had explained their objectives that morning to his troops….

 _FLASHBACK…._

 _Kakashi was pointing at a map of the Fire Country/Grass Country Border as all the genins gathered around him. "This is an infiltration job. We'll be moving quickly and quietly using as much stealth as possible. We want to avoid contact with Kusa ninja forces_ _ **at all costs**_ _. We are trespassing on their turf and being discovered could be a huge incident so stay low and stay quiet. Any questions?"_

 _Kiba raised his hand and Kakashi nodded at him. "What if we are discovered by Kusa ninjas sensei?" asked the dog lover._

 _The silver haired jonin gave a double eye smile and said, "We run like hell of course!"_

 _Everyone sweat dropped. "That's not very reassuring sensei." said Shino._

 _"It's the best we're going to get from Kakashi-sensei." said Blake with a groan…._

 _FLASHBACK END…._

"Busshu Village is right over this ridge people." said Kakashi. "We made it this far without a hitch. Stay sharp."

….

 **Grass Country, Busshu Village remains**

The Konoha ninjas arrived at the outskirts of the abandoned Village of Busshu and saw bodies everywhere. Grass Country ninjas were at the outskirts of the town along with the remains of several wolves and bears (Obviously the carcasses left behind when Beowolves and Ursas died). The telltale signs of damage done by Creatures of Grimm were everywhere. Shino's insects were scouting about and the stench of the Emerald's chakra was all over the place.

Hinata activated her byakugan and scouted the village ruins. Kurenai whispered, "Do you see anything Hinata-chan?"

The byakugan princess nodded. "The remains of Bishamon's party are in the village square. It looks like the Grimm got them too. I see three Beowolves circling a downed man….He's face down on the ground. It looks like he's having seizures. It might be Bishomon; I can't tell."

Kakashi led the group in carefully and intended to get rid of the Beowolves that were stalking the downed ninja. That's when the silver haired jonin realized something. He motioned to the others. "Those three Beowolves aren't _stalking_ the man….they are _guarding_ him…!" The Konoha group cringed as Bishamon's body made an awful cracking noise as he convulsed and flipped over on his back. They could see from their vantage points that Bishamon's face was horrifically contorted in a sick, rictus grin that slowly morphed into a silent scream of death. Then his ribs burst outwards revealing a blood covered orb that seemed to be rising out of the dead man's corpse….

" _What the_ _ **hell**_ _is that thing?!_ " said Kiba in revulsion at the gore moving about.

The Beowolves heard Kiba's gasp in horror and quickly moved to attack the dog lover. Fortunately Blake, Pyrrha and Raven reacted and slew the three Creatures of Grimm with their blades before the Grimm could mount an assault.

Anko asked, "What is going on Kakashi? Is that a _Grimm_ coming out of Bishamon?"

Suddenly several barbed tentacles shot out Bishamon's body and lashed out at the Konoha ninjas. Naruto was pierced in the left thigh and Shino was run through his right lung and yelled in pain. Kiba barely avoided being hit and Hinata had one of the tentacles grasp her neck and choke her as it reeled her in. The three jonins were fast enough to avoid the whip like appendages and Pyrrha, Blake and Raven were out of range where they'd slain the Beowolves.

Hinata slid right up to the corpse and was spattered with blood from it as the _thing_ emerged from Bishomon's chest. Another pair of tentacles whipped out and seized Hinata's arms holding her in place. The barb piercing Naruto was cut by Kakashi's White Light Chakra Saber in time to prevent him from being reeled in but Shino wasn't so fortunate. He was lifted in the air and then pulled in as brutally as Hinata had been. He crashed to the earth and cried out as the barb wriggled within his body….

" _HINATA!_ _SHINO!_ " cried Kurenai seeing two of her precious students ripped away from her. Shino was already coughing up blood.

The thing rose into the air and as the blood and gore slid off of it Hinata realized what it was. "A-S-seer-!" she choked out as the strange cross between a crystal ball and a jellyfish angled down to 'look' at her. Hinata gasped as the Seer's tentacles seemed to give her a gentle lover's caress….

That's when the Hyūga heiress heard a voice she hoped to never hear again. A deep female voice said, "Cinder….It _is_ you my Fall Maiden! Who would have thought you'd end up there? But you are changed…."

"L-lady-Salem!" choked out Hinata.

The Seer lowered down to Hinata's level and the byakugan wielder saw Salem's distorted image in the crystal ball like creature. Salem seemed to be smiling softly in approval and said, "I see you remember your Master. Transmigration is an odd phenomenon. So many people's personalities are destroyed in the process. Your strong will kept you intact. I'm quite pleased." The Seer released its grip on Hinata's throat and Salem said, "Speak freely child. We have much to discuss."

The blood covered Hinata was nearly having a panic attack. "Lady Salem! The Emerald was….something of yours?"

Salem looked perplexed and the said, "Oh, you mean those stone seeds I sent out? They require a long time to incubate in a host before they become Seers. I already have many trusted allies in the place you are in. The problem is an actual invasion is impractical with transmigration and all. You might say that-"

The Seer shattered into dust as Raven shot by with her O-katana in an Iaido stance. "You know **_SALEM_**?" roared the red eyed beauty. "You are the Fall Maiden? Whose side are you on?"

"That's enough Raven." commanded Kakashi. "Hinata is our friend and ally. You freed her and Shino; well done."

"But-!" stammered out Raven.

" _Later_. We will discuss it _all_ later." replied Kakashi. "Let's have a look at Shino."

Kurenai and Anko were already doing their best to check the wounded Shino who was in agony. Hinata suddenly burst into sobs for Shino's sake and her own mental shock at Salem's contact. Kiba and Kakashi were trying to calm her down. The frustrated Raven went over to see Naruto who was being tended by Blake and Pyrrha….

….

Hours later after dark the Konoha ninjas finally managed to slip back into Fire Country. Shino was in critical condition and was everyone's main concern. Hinata had calmed down but was still very upset for obvious reasons. Naruto was bandaged but his advanced healing was already kicking in. Unlike Shino his body was fairly immune to whatever toxins the Seer's barb had in it. The jonins were having a meeting away from their charges….

Kakashi said quietly, "If I run flat out to Konoha with Shino I believe I can get him to Konoha Hospital in time. I'll take a couple of chakra pills with me."

Kurenai looked very conflicted but finally said, "You are the fastest carrying a passenger. Take Anko with you for protection. She's faster than I am. I'll bring the rest of the kids home."

Anko nodded. "Alright Nai-chan. We'll tell the genins our plan and Kakashi and I will set out."

Within the hour Kakashi and Anko were gone leaving behind the distressed members of Team 7, 8 and 15 in Kurenai's care….

….

The genins set up their camp. Kurenai and Hinata shared a tent. Blake and Pyrrha bunked together as usual and Naruto shared his tent with Kiba and Akamaru. Raven by preference had a tent to herself.

Naruto was the first asleep given he was tired and injured. All the kunoichi's ordered him to bed after they ate anyway. It wasn't until he was actually lying down that that Naruto realized how exhausted he was….

 _Dream…._

 _Naruto looked around and found himself in a strange place he didn't recognize where a woman with white hair and deathly white skin seemed to live. Even stranger she had deep red and purple veins that ran up her arms and face. Most shocking of all were her eyes though. They were jet black with red irises that seemed to glow. She wore a long black robe and seemed oddly regal like some kind of queen._

 _The orange loving ninja attempted to talk to her but the sounds both he made and she replied in seemed so muffled and far away that they couldn't communicate. It was as if they were talking through a liquid wall. Things were distorted visually as well so he couldn't read her lips either. She pointed outside her home(?) and Naruto saw a black tar-like pit where Creatures of Grimm seemed to be emerging as if they were created there. The blonde asked what was going on in that pit and the vision started to fade. The white skinned woman seemed frustrated and tried to speak more hoping Naruto would comprehend what she was saying but in the end the dream faded out to black._

 _The last Naruto saw of the woman's face she simply looked disappointed…._

 _End Dream Sequence…._

Naruto woke up from his strange dream about the white skinned woman in the middle of the night. He looked over and saw Kiba and Akamaru were fast asleep and the normal noises of the outdoors filled his ears. He eventually let the nocturnal sounds lull him back to sleep. Naruto's dreams were peaceful after that and he was soon smiling in his sleep as Pyrrha, Hinata and Blake filled his mind's eye.

….

Hinata was having nightmares of her own….about Salem trying to invade the Elemental Nations. Grimm were running wild in her dream. All her friends were dying and Shino was the first to perish. The byakugan princess woke up sobbing and it woke up Kurenai.

"Bad dream Hinata-chan…?" asked the red eyed jonin as she stroked Hinata's back soothingly.

Hinata sniffled and nodded before she hugged her mentor and cried quietly. It was a long time before she calmed down and fell back to sleep feeling emotionally spent….

….

In the morning the Konoha genin teams ate their breakfast in relative silence. Naruto was already on the mend and could travel almost normally despite the fact he was in pain. Naruto talked to the others about his odd dream and Raven said, "The pale woman in your dream is Salem. She is the absolute master of all the Creatures of Grimm. She's an insidious witch that wants to wipe out all of mankind. What's on my mind is where Hinata stands." Raven looked suspiciously at the byakugan wielder.

Hinata sighed. "I used to serve Lady Salem but now I'm free of her influence. I'm worried about Naruto-kun seeing her in his dreams though. It almost sounds like Salem was trying to contact him."

"If you are the Fall Maiden you are out of Salem's reach for now." said Raven. "That is a positive. She has no access to the relic that you are required to reach. That has to be a major dent in her plans."

"What's all this about?" asked Kiba. "How is Hinata-chan connected to your old world?"

"It would be better to let Ozpin explain the situation." ' _Even if he messed up before_ ….' replied Raven. "He knows more than any of us about Salem."

Kurenai looked perplexed. "It seems like this whole transmigration of souls was just a small piece of a larger puzzle. This all needs to be brought to the attention of Hokage-sama. But make no mistake Raven; Hinata-chan is a loyal Konoha kunoichi. She's not an agent of evil."

Raven shook her head. "If Hinata is the Fall Maiden then we have to keep her away from Salem. It's as simple as that."

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha Hospital**

It was early morning and Kakashi and Anko were worn out from running all night. Shizune was examining Shino in the Emergency Room. She'd already summoned some Aburame clan healers to help with the process as they could help Shino using their destruction bugs to assist Shino's own hive in repairing his body. His Father Aburame Shibi was there as well and Shizune was explaining the situation to the clan head.

"Shino lapsed into a coma before he arrived here. I believe I can repair the lung but I don't know about his chakra system." said Shizune. "Tsunade-sama is already in emergency surgery but will be out soon so hopefully she will be able to help. For right now I wil do all I can."

"How badly is his chakra system damaged?" asked Shibi calmly.

"It's bad." replied Shizune. "Saving his life is more important than his chakra system at this point Shibi-san."

Shibi nodded and said, "Please save my son Shizune-san."

….

 **Fire Country, Forest**

Kurenai and the Konoha genins were travelling at a moderate pace with Naruto doing the best he could with his bandaged thigh. He said, "Damn this sucks. We could have been back in Konoha by now if it wasn't for my leg. I'm worried about Shino."

"We're all worried for Shino-kun." said Hinata sadly. "I hope he's alright."

Kiba placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "We just need to have faith. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei got him back safely."

"If he is in Tsunade-sama's hands then odds are he'll be alright." said Kurenai. ' _Gods let him be safe_ ….'

Blake was wondering just _how_ Shino could survive such a grievous wound but remained silent so she wouldn't upset the others….

Pyrrha said, "We'll be back in Konoha by tonight so let's keep our chins up and pray for Shino's safety."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Pyrrha's sentiments….

….

 **Konoha, Hokage Tower**

Kakashi and Anko submitted their reports to the Hokage. Hiruzen was carefully scrutinizing the mission statements and finally said, "The appearance of this Salem person is bad to say the least. I believe we need to have to discuss her in detail with the other jonins. Right now you both need to get some sleep. I can tell you are both bordering on chakra exhaustion."

Anko said, "I guess I'll head back to the Hospital and see about Shino. He may not be showing it but Shibi needs our support."

The silver haired jonin sighed and nodded in agreement. "I'm going to go home and shower first. I'll meet you up there at the Hospital in about an hour."

….

 **Hospital, Emergency Room waiting area**

Four grueling hours later Anko was asleep in her chair and Kakashi was barely able to keep his eyes open. Shibi had been joined by his wife and some of his clansmen. After what seemed like an eternity; Shizune came out of surgery and said to Shibi, "Shino-kun is going to live but I don't know if he'll ever be a ninja again. His chakra system is severely damaged by the toxins that were in his body. We were able to successfully remove the poison in his system so Shino is in no further danger."

"Can we see him?" asked Shibi.

"Yes but only two at a time." replied Shizune. "Shino-kun is still sedated so don't expect him to wake up soon."

"Is he still in a coma?" questioned Kakashi.

Shizune shook her head. "No, we were able to bring him out of it successfully. Shino-kun is just asleep now."

….

Kakashi and Anko came into Shino's room after Shibi and his wife visited their son. Shino had numerous tubes and wires hooked to him along with several IV's. The young genin looked pale and gaunt as could be. His skin was clammy and his hair was damp and matted.

"Poor kid." whispered Anko. "He looks like hell."

"At least he's going to live." said Kakashi. "That's more than I expected back when we left Busshu Village."

Soon the two jonins were out in the waiting room again talking with Shibi and his wife. "I thank you both for bringing our son back." said the clan head. "Thanks to you he is going to live."

"I'm sure Shino would have done the same if the roles had been reversed." said Kakashi. "He is a comrade."

"Nevertheless the Aburame Clan is in your debt." said Shibi. "Kakashi, Anko; if there is anything you ever need of the Aburames do not hesitate to ask."

….

Kurenai and her genins made it back to Konoha Village that evening and were informed the Shino was alive at the front gates much to their relief. They went straight to the hospital afterwards to get Naruto's thigh examined and to check in on Shino.

Kiba, Kurenai and Hinata went to see Shino while Blake, Pyrrha and Raven waited on Naruto as he was being patched up. Naruto was talking to the Doctor taking care of his leg. "The toxins have already been expelled from your body thanks to your healing factor Uzumaki-san." said the Doctor as he used the Mystic Palm jutsu to heal the remaining damage. "You should be good to go now. Take it easy the next few days." Naruto then went to check on Shino with his teammates….

Afterwards Kurenai and the tired genins submitted their action reports at the Mission Hall and went to their homes for some much needed sleep….

….

 **Yamanaka Flower Shop**

Early the next morning Raven showed up at the Yamanaka Flower shop looking for Pyrrha or Ino-chan who could take the red eyed girl to see Naruto….Raven was concerned about the orange loving ninja and wanted to see him….and maybe get to _know_ him better. As she entered Ayano was at the counter and said, "Good morning! Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. I –Oh, good morning Raven-chan." said Ayano with a warm smile. "How are you?"

Raven gave a soft smile to Ayano. "Good morning to you Ayano-san; is Ino-chan in? I thought I'd stop by since I got back in the village."

Ayano nodded. "I'm sure Ino-chan will be happy to see you. She's in the kitchen so head on in."

"Thank you Ayano-san." replied the sword wielder. "It will be good to see her."

As Raven came into the kitchen she saw someone she wasn't looking forward to seeing again so soon….Yamanaka Inoichi. Pausing she looked into Inoichi's blue eyes and said, "Hello Inoichi-san; I'm Raven Branwen but I'm sure you already know that."

Inoichi looked at Raven suspiciously and thought, ' _So this is what became of Sakura….After what Sakura did to Ino-chan and Ayano it's going to be difficult to be objective with this girl_.' "Yes, I heard about you from Hokage-sama. We have a lot to talk about don't we? Do you want to schedule that mind walk?"

' _Straight to the point eh?_ ' thought Raven. "We can do that whenever you want Inoichi-san; I have nothing to hide from you. Actually I could use your advice once we are done with the mind walk."

Inoichi asked, "How does tomorrow morning sound? I have other duties to attend to today."

"I can be here at eight in the morning unless you'd rather meet elsewhere." answered the red eyed beauty. "I have the next three days off because of the mission I was just on."

The Yamanaka clan head nodded and said, "That will work nicely Raven-san; I-"

"Raven-chan!" said Ino as she entered the kitchen smiling. "I thought I heard your voice. Daddy, this is my friend Raven."

Inoichi said, "Yes, Raven-san and I just finished introductions Princess."

Ino smiled and said, "I heard you all had a rough mission Raven-chan. Pyrrha-chan told me about Shino. I was so sorry to hear about that. Are you doing okay?"

Raven nodded and said, "I'm alright. I'm planning on going to see Shino later in the day. I wanted to visit Naruto-kun as well since he was also hurt but I don't know where he lives."

"That's no problem!" said the sassy blonde kunoichi. "We can go over to see Naruto-kun together. I meant to visit him as well. Is that okay Daddy?"

"I don't see why not Ino-chan." said the Yamanaka patriarch. "I'll trust you two to stay out of trouble?" he asked looking more at Raven than Ino.

"Of course sir." said Raven. "Ino-chan and I will behave as proper kunoichis."

Inoichi nodded in approval and Ino wondered what the underlying tension was between her Father and her new friend was. ' _Daddy seems concerned. I'll ask Raven-chan what's going on later.'_ thought the blue eyed kunoichi. "Let me get my gear and we'll go see Naruto-kun together Raven-chan."

Raven nodded and said, "I'll be out in the shop with Ayano." ' _No need to continue this pointless staring contest with Inoichi_ ….'

….

Ino and Raven were walking together towards Hashirama Lane where Naruto's apartment building was. "What was all that friction between you and Daddy Raven-chan?" asked Ino.

' _She's observant as ever_.' thought Raven. "I'm from another place you know. Your Dad has to do a mind walk on me to make sure I'm trustworthy. He was supposed to do it before I started taking missions for Konoha. It's just a formality I guess."

"That seems a bit overkill to me." said Ino. "I could talk to Daddy and-"

Raven shook her head. "It's the Hokage's orders Ino-chan. Neither Inoichi-san or I really have a choice in the matter. Besides; as I told your Dad I have nothing to hide." She looked up at an apartment building and asked, "Is this Naruto-kun's place?"

"It's the next one down." answered Ino. "Won't Naruto-kun be in a shock to have two beautiful kunoichis checking up on him?" she asked with a giggle.

The young sword mistress just smiled and chuckled at her friend's antics….

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Raven hesitantly knocked on Naruto's door and found her face heating up again again. ' _Oh damn it! I'm blushing like a school girl again….I wonder if Naruto-kun is up yet? He was always a late riser_.'

Ino grinned as she heard Naruto padding up to the door to answer it and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Ino-chan and Raven-chan Naruto-kun! Are you dressed?" asked Ino. ' _I sure hope not!_ ' she mentally giggled.

Raven looked over at Ino and could tell what the blonde girl was thinking by the look on Ino's face. She mentally chuckled and thought, ' _He's not going to open the door_ _ **naked**_ _Ino-chan_.'

Naruto opened the door and had a hand full of kunai. His eyes had a steely look that surprised Ino and Raven found _very_ attractive. Naruto put his knives away and said. "Good morning girls, what brings you out here?"

Ino rolled her eyes and said, "We came out to see how you were doing of course! I know you aren't used to having beautiful kunoichis coming to your door but why the kunai?"

Naruto grinned but said seriously, "You can never be too careful."

Raven smiled shyly and said, "Good morning Naruto-kun. I hope we aren't imposing on you."

The orange loving ninja shrugged and said, "No; it's no problem. Come on in. The real me is in the kitchen."

"The real you?" asked Ino. "Oh; shadow clone."

The shadow clone let the two girls into his apartment and locked the door behind them before he said, "Boss; it's Ino and Raven-san."

"Bring them in the kitchen." said Naruto. "I'm just cleaning up the counters."

The shadow clone led Ino and Raven into the kitchen where the original Naruto was rinsing out a cloth he'd been cleaning the counters with. "Hi girls, have a seat and I'll be right there." The shadow clone dispersed leaving both kunoichi's wondering what it must be like to have multiples of yourself running around.

Naruto was wearing shorts and a white t-shirt with a red Uzumaki swirl on the front. "So how are you ladies doing this morning?"

"We came to check on you." said Ino. "Raven-chan said you were stabbed through the thigh and we were both concerned."

Naruto motioned to his unblemished left thigh. "It's all healed; you know I heal up really quickly."

Ino looked at Naruto's left thigh and did a double take. "Where's the scar?"

"I don't scar Ino." replied Naruto. "I never have."

"I knew you always healed fast but this is ridiculous!" said Ino as she gawked at Naruto's now uninjured leg. ' _Nice lean, muscular legs. Damn Naruto-kun, Ino-chan likes!_ '

Raven was enjoying the view too (The days before his leg had been swollen and bloody). "Ummm…." ' _How did I never notice his physique before? Sakura you idiot…._ ' The red eyed girl quashed her lustful thoughts and said concerned, "Have you had any more strange dreams Naruto-kun?"

"You mean about Salem?" asked Naruto. Seeing Raven nod he said, "No, just the one time. I blame it on the poisons."

"You were poisoned too?" asked Ino shocked. "Are you sure it's all gone?"

The orange loving ninja nodded. "The doc said my body already expelled the toxins last night. He double checked and I'm fine Ino."

"Well that's a relief." said Raven. "They said they got all of the toxins out of Shino too so hopefully he never had nightmares."

"I doubt he did given he was in a coma." said Naruto sadly. "Team 7 is going up to visit him once he's out of intensive care. Right now just his family and Team 8 are visiting. We'd just be underfoot I'm afraid."

' _Naruto-kun really has matured_.' thought Raven with approval. ' _He's slowly becoming the man that he's meant to be –a kage level ninja_.'

Ino noticed Raven was staring dreamily at Naruto and stifled a chuckle. ' _Someone is smitten_.'

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Blake and Anko were having their morning tea and discussing their situation. "We're going to have to get better weapons for hunting Creatures of Grimm Anko nee-chan. Kunai knives just aren't sufficient for the task at hand."

"So you think that weapons like you had in Remnant are a good solution?" asked Anko. Seeing Blake nod the snake mistress added, "We're talking about a lot of ryos Blake-chan….But then again Hokage-sama is reviewing our mission now. He may decide it's necessary as well. I know Kakashi is already pushing for it. On the other hand your boyfriend Naruto-kun was pretty effective by streaming wind chakra along kunai."

Blake's ears drooped. "And how many _other_ genins are capable of chakra manipulation on his level? Most _chunins_ can't do that either."

"Point taken Blake-chan." said Anko. "Besides; Naruto will have his gunblade soon from what you've said."

Blake's voice took an edge. "Naruto-kun will be even stronger with the Shear Trigger in hand. We need to get you a special weapon too nee-chan. I had a friend named Ilia that had a metal gun whip. It was a very potent weapon that could cut through metal. I wonder if you could use such a weapon…."

"A metal whip huh?" asked Anko with a chuckle. "That would pretty much cement my image as an insane dominatrix that the public has dreamed up. I wonder if I could incorporate it into the snake style…?"

….

 **Hokage's Office**

That afternoon, Kakashi, Anko and Kurenai were discussing their views with the Third Hokage. Hiruzen said, "As a temporary measure I'm moving Raven Branwen into Aburame Shino's spot on Team 8. Young Shino will be out for months and Team 8 is the only anti Grimm squad aside of Team 7. Kurenai, I realize you have objections but we need your team at combat strength." Kurenai sadly nodded. The aged Hokage then turned to Anko and said, "I have a replacement in mind for Team 15 so you will be able to break them in with the Malachite twins. You yourself admitted that Raven is vastly better than the twins anyway and that will eliminate the gap in skills you reported would cause problems previously."

"I understand Hokage-sama." said the snake mistress. ' _Damn what a mess_ ….'

The Hokage sighed. "….And as all three of you have requested it we're also going to get some of this specialized anti Grimm weaponry for all of you and young Kiba. Unfortunately we will have to rely on those of you who came from Remnant to remember and design such weaponry so it will take time. We'll also have to find some competent blacksmiths to create such weapons."

"I have us covered on the blacksmith part Hokage-sama." said Kakashi. "The genin Tenten on Team 9 works in her Father's shop and they have turned out the special gear for my team and Hinata. They do superb commissioned work."

"Well, that's one less worry." said the Hokage. Then he asked, "I never thought about it before Kakashi but what kind of a weapon did you have in remnant?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask and said grandly, "I had the _coolest_ weapon of all! An awesome walking cane!"

Hiruzen, Anko and Kurenai all sweat dropped. "…. _A_ _ **cane**_ _…?_ " asked the Hokage. "I'm so sorry that I asked…."

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, Salem has made an appearance at last. The question is whether or not she can actually have any direct influence in the Elemental Nations or whether she is merely a spectator via her Seers….Things have gone south for Team 8 and particularly Shino. Will he be able to be a ninja again? Lastly the Hokage has started gearing up specialized groups to deal with the Creatures of Grimm. What will that lead to? See you next time. Blue out. 11/25/17


	28. Chapter 28

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This transitional chapter is character driven so not much action. Here is chapter 28. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Quote: _Oh, struck by lightning; didn't die….Craaazy Thursday! – Nora Valkyrie on how her semblance activated - RWBY Volume 5_

Last time:

 ** _Hokage's Office_**

 _That afternoon, Kakashi, Anko and Kurenai were discussing their views with the Third Hokage. Hiruzen said, "As a temporary measure I'm moving Raven Branwen into Aburame Shino's spot on Team 8. Young Shino will be out for months and Team 8 is the only anti Grimm squad aside of Team 7. I realize you have objections Kurenai but we need your team at combat strength." Kurenai sadly nodded. The aged Hokage then turned to Anko and said, "I have a replacement in mind for Team 15 so you will be able to break them in with the Malachite twins. You yourself admitted that Raven is vastly better than the twins anyway and that will eliminate the gap in skills you reported would cause problems previously."_

 _"I understand Hokage-sama." said the snake mistress. '_ _Damn what a mess…._ _'_

 _The Hokage sighed. "….And as all three of you have requested it we're also going to get some of this specialized anti Grimm weaponry for all of you and young Kiba. Unfortunately we will have to rely on those of you who came from Remnant to remember and design such weaponry so it will take time. We'll also have to find some competent blacksmiths to create such weapons."_

 _"I have us covered on the blacksmith part Hokage-sama." said Kakashi. "The genin Tenten on Team 9 works in her Father's shop and they have turned out the special gear for my team and Hinata. They do superb commissioned work."_

 _"Well, that's one less worry." said the Hokage. Then he asked, "I never thought about it before Kakashi but what kind of a weapon did you have in Remnant?"_

 _Kakashi smiled under his mask and said grandly, "I had the_ _coolest_ _weapon of all! A walking cane!"_

 _Hiruzen, Anko and Kurenai all sweat dropped._ _" ….A __**cane**_ _…?_ _" asked the Hokage. "I'm so sorry that I asked…."_

 _…._

Chapter 28

 **Fire Country, Konoha Village, Training Ground 8**

Early in the morning, Kurenai, Kiba and Hinata were gathered at their regular training grounds where the beautiful red eyed jonin was explaining the current situation to her charges. "….And because of the situation with Shino-kun being injured, genin Raven Branwen is going to fill his slot on Team 8 until further notice. Hokage-sama has specifically designated Team 8 an anti-Grimm squad along with Team 7. As such, Kiba-kun and I will be getting specialized weaponry for the job at hand…." She looked at Hinata and said, "I know you have some tension with Raven-san but I need the both of you to put your differences aside Hinata-chan."

Hinata nodded and said, "I will do my best to become friends with Raven-san sensei."

"That's all I can ask." said Kurenai with a smile.

"Where _is_ Raven-san?" asked Kiba. "I would have expected her to be here for our first meeting."

"She's getting a full physical and psych check before she joins the team per Hokage-sama." answered Kurenai. "Raven is new to Konoha so he wants to clear her status from a probationary to a full genin."

….

 **Yamanaka home, Inoichi's Office**

Yamanaka Inoichi was less than thrilled at what he'd found in Raven's mind. Inner Sakura's mental insanity was enough to turn his stomach but Raven's lifetime of experience as a bandit leader, murderer and thief left him downright disgusted. Ino's Father would have considered throwing Raven into jail or killing her rather than making her a genin….But she had one thing going for her personality that Inoichi trusted; she'd somehow retained Sakura's _loyalty_. The blonde clan head knew that Raven would ruthlessly kill any enemy that stood in her path but he also knew the black haired girl would protect his Ino-chan and her Konoha friends and allies at all costs.

Inoichi thought to himself, ' _Raven also retains Sakura's innocence in a bizarre way. She's very shy about her interest in of all people, Uzumaki Naruto who Sakura was teammates with. She is always buying flowers to put on Mebuki and Kizashi's graves. She yearns to belong to a family and her first choice -Sakura's choice- is her best friend's family. I myself agreed that we would have taken Haruno Sakura in like a daughter if she was found but gods this is unbelievable_.' Inoichi wanted to laugh at the irony. ' _Ino's two best friends are Pyrrha who is a comparative angel of justice and Raven who is a cold blooded criminal. The kamis must be laughing at me_.' he thought.

It was some time before Inoichi woke Raven up to consider things. Raven awoke feeling a bit groggy and wondered how much Inoichi had seen. She knew he was an honorable man and an excellent psychiatrist. The beautiful red eyed girl also knew he would kill her in a heartbeat if she was a threat to Ino-chan in any way. ' _I have nothing to hide….but I know Inoichi. He would have hated Raven Branwen, leader of the Branwen tribe of bandits. What should I say to him? I look up to him for some reason….I want his approval. I want to be close to Ino-chan….What do I do?_ '

The two stared at each other in silence until Inoichi finally said, "Seeing what happened to Haruno Sakura was truly heartbreaking. She was dear to me you know. Now she's part of you Raven Branwen. You've got her intellect, her loyalty and a few other traits I consider positive. The question is whether or not it outweighs the negative aspects of your personality. You were a cold blooded killer. But you were loyal to your tribe. You don't have a tribe now. What do you intend to do?"

Raven frowned and said, "Isn't it obvious? Konoha is my tribe now. The Leaf ninjas are my tribe. The Yamanaka clan is-!" She stopped and covered her mouth before she looked back at Inoichi in the eyes again. She shed a single tear. "You don't know how horrifying it was to watch when Inner Sakura tried to kidnap Ino-chan and kill Ayano. I was helpless and locked in a cage. I wanted to get out and stop her but I couldn't break the bars. That was when I was convinced Inner Sakura had to die…."

"I saw it all." said Inoichi. "Seeing that entire spectacle from your combined point of view made me feel sick seeing how warped and murderous Sakura had become. The curse mark twisted her even more. It was horrifying seeing such a sweet girl destroyed that way. When you finished her off at least it released her from her insanity."

The odd pair sat in silence for a bit and Inoichi said, "I'm recommending that you be given full genin status but that you continue to see me for psych checks….I'll also allow you to continue to be friends with Ino-chan."

Raven let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Then she asked, "What am I going to tell Ino-chan about Inner Sakura? I-"

Inoichi held up his hand and said, "Everyone is still reeling from the news that Haruno Sakura was a missing nin that was declared dead after the Konoha/Oto War. Ino-chan, Ayano-chan and the others wouldn't be able to handle it at this point. We'll talk more about it as time goes on. Right now the wound is still too fresh."

Raven nodded sadly and said, "I understand but I want them to know the truth someday."

"For their sake or yours Raven?" asked the blonde clan head.

Raven's eyes turned hard and she simply said, "Both."

Inoichi nodded and said, "I have your paperwork filled out. Let's go see the Hokage and get you sworn in as a full genin."

….

 **Hokage's Office**

Sarutobi Hiruzen finished writing his documents to send to each of the leaders in the Elemental Nations regarding the emergence of the Creatures of Grimm. He also sent the expanded version of Kakashi's memorandum with several types of Grimm categorized that hadn't been spotted (and hopefully never would be). ' _I hope they actually heed this warning. Knowing A and Onoki they'll think it's some sort of elaborate scheme on my part. It's actually hard to fathom creatures that are out to wipe out humanity that feed on negative energy_.' He finished putting his seal on each of the scrolls and ordered them sent out via his fastest messenger birds. ' _What a disaster_ ….' thought the aged Hokage.

About that time he heard a knock and his secretary Maki said, "Yamanaka Inoichi and Raven Branwen are here to see you Hokage-sama."

"Send them in." replied Hiruzen. _'I hope this is good news._ '

….

An hour later the Third Hokage was nursing a headache as he read the report on Raven. ' _I really could use some sake right now…._ ' "Raven, I really don't know what to think after reading this report but we need experienced genins to fight Creatures of Grimm and you are _eminently_ qualified. Anko gave a glowing report on your performance during the mission with Bishamon. I'm promoting you to full genin per Inoichi's recommendation. I want you to continue with your psych checks and to do your best with Team 8."

Raven stood up and bowed. "I thank you Hokage-sama. I understand and will do my best."

After Hiruzen dismissed Raven to go to meet up with Team 8 he said to Inoichi, "I'm surprised you gave her the go ahead Inoichi. With what happened to your wife and daughter it had to be a tough decision to make."

Inoichi shook his head. "Believe me Hokage-sama; my gut reaction was to have the girl locked up and never letting her see the light of day again. Outside of her combat abilities her main redeeming features she inherited from Sakura. She values loyalty and friendship so I decided to take a chance on her. None of the others from Remnant have been so difficult to decide on…."

"I understand Inoichi. Some judgment calls a nearly impossible and you have to pick the lesser of two evils." Hiruzen pulled some sake out of a hidden compartment in his desk. "I normally don't imbibe this early in the day but after that I need a drink. Sake…?"

Inoichi nodded. "Thank you Hokage-sama. I could use one too."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Meanwhile Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha were sitting at the blonde's kitchen table working on fuinjutsu seals for elemental bullets….Well, Pyrrha and Naruto were. Blake was reading the latest Icha Icha with rapt attention. It was almost lunch time and all three of them were getting hungry. Pyrrha looked up at the wall clock and said, "Let's get some takeout or something so we can keep working."

Blake looked up from her book. "Okonomiyaki sounds good to me. But we'd have to go eat in a restaurant for that."

"Mmmm….that does sound good." said Pyrrha. "What do you think Naruto-kun?"

Naruto finished a seal and said, "There is an okonomiyaki place over near Tenten's weapons shop. We can drop off the seals there and have lunch then."

"Sounds like a plan." said Blake with approval. "Let's get our things together and go."

….

The three genins of Team 7 entered Tenten's shop and the bun haired girl looked very excited to see them. "Guys! You have great timing!"

Naruto waved. "Hi Tenten. We bought a load of seals for you."

"Hello again!" said Pyrrha.

Blake smiled softly and said, "It's good to see you Tenten; what's new?"

Tenten held up a scroll and said, "Dad and I got a letter of intent from the Hokage to create specialized weapons for the Anti-Grimm Teams which are forming. It's all thanks to you guys! This is going to be _sooo coool!_ " The weapons loving girl was clearly over the moon. "Let's see those new seals."

The bun haired girl checked over the seals and said; "These are superb work as always….what would you guys think about a little business venture?"

Naruto looked intrigued and said, "What did you have in mind Tenten?" Pyrrha and Blake both looked curious as well.

Tenten had a gleam in her eye and said, "Dad and I have been pulling a few all nighters on the Shear Trigger and it performs better than our wildest expectations with the elemental bullets you've helped create. Since it's a non-standard caliber we can use the same ammunition in all the other new weapons. Rather than just making seals for your own bullets you could make them for everybody for a cut of the profits. Dad said when you guys came in to make you the offer and he would draw up a contract. We can make all the bullets anyone wants but your elemental seals are what will really sell!"

Pyrrha scratched her temple and said, "That's quite a proposal. Ummm….just how many seals are we talking about?"

"As many as you can make!" said Tenten excitedly. "I know you guys have missions like I do but this would be a great way to make some extra ryos when you aren't in the field. We'd negotiate an equitable price of course. The shop provides the materials and you provide the seals. What do you think?"

Blake's stomach _roared_ and she looked embarrassed.

"Maybe we should discuss it after a good lunch." said Tenten with a chuckle. "I'm a bit famished myself." Her Father came out of the back and she asked, "Dad, I'm going to lunch with my friends for the next hour. Can you run the shop while I'm gone?"

Tenten's Father grinned. "I think I can handle it Tenten-chan. When you get back we'll show them the new Shear Trigger."

….

The four genins were soon eating okonomiyaki and discussing things. "A metal gun whip?" asked Tenten. "I'm already working on one for someone else. She's a new genin on Team 19 named Ilia."

" _ILIA?!_ " asked Blake in shock. "Ilia as in Ilia Amitola?"

Tenten looked a bit surprised at Blake's outburst but then said, "That's her; is she a friend of yours?" ' _I sure hope so_ ….' Tenten thought with a sweat drop.

"Well, I-" Blake seemed to catch herself. "Yes, she's a friend….but I haven't seen her in a long time…."

….

 **Hokage Tower**

Meanwhile a young probationary genin named Ilia was sitting in the hall outside the Hokage's Office irritably pondering her situation. ' _Team 19 is dissolved because those other two idiots couldn't keep it together…._ _ **God damn it!**_ '

 _FLASHBACK…._

 ** _Kingdom of Vale, shortly after the fall of Beacon_** _…._

 _….A masked member of the White Fang that was on Adam Taurus' personal staff was speaking to Ilia. She didn't know him personally but he was high ranking in the organization. She'd been called in from Menagerie for an important mission. "Ilia Amitola, your job is to hunt down the deserter Blake Belladonna and bring her back alive. Adam Taurus wants her back in his hands. You have permission to destroy anything and everything of value to her including her friends. An example must be made of them to break her. Do you understand?"_

 _Ilia gasped slightly at the orders. '_ _Break Her? Blake is my friend….I don't want to hurt her. Maybe I can talk her into coming back. Why did she leave Adam's side to begin with…?_ _' "I –I understand sir. Where was Blake Belladona last seen?"_

 _"At the Battle of Beacon." said the man. "We don't know if she fled or is still in the area. That's where you come in."_

 _…._

 ** _Beacon Academy, weeks later…._**

 _It had been a long and difficult search for Ilia. The chameleon faunus girl finally traced Blake's trail to the damaged Beacon CCT Tower. "Blake's trail leads to this place." thought Ilia aloud. The young huntress saw the frozen Grimm Dragon above on the tower and shivered. "What the hell was she doing near that thing? Was she….eaten?" Shaking off that horrifying thought Ilia looked around and saw a faintly glowing spot on the ground. 'What is this…?' thought the faunus girl. She put her hand on the spot and knew no more…like Blake before her only dust was left behind….._

 _…._

 ** _Rice Country_**

 _Fuma Sasame was killed in the crossfire between the Konoha and Oto forces. She was mistaken for an Oto ninja and was cut down before she could even react. The rather petite girl's life was over before it had truly begun….or so she thought. Several days later she awoke with her body fully restored and a new set of memories. Ilia and Sasame had fought each other tooth and nail for control during those three days but both of them realized they were running out of time. The two girls agreed that merging was preferable to death….In the end a new Ilia resulted given she had both Ilia's appearance and faunus traits. She just was younger like Sasame._

 _Ilia went back to the area the Fuma clan occupied to link up with them and found the area was completely underwater from a flood. Looking northwards Ilia saw the dam had been destroyed. She sat down and cried. "There's nothing left! Where do I go now?!" she thought aloud. After a few days of wandering over the wrecked landscape of the Land of Rice she followed her nose to the scent of food nearby and found it was a refugee camp where people of Rice Country were being cared for by ninjas of Fire Country. Knowing that stealing some food was her best option Ilia stealthily slipped into the refugee camp…._

 _Then the faunus girl was spotted. '_ _SHIT! I have to run!_ _' thought Ilia. That's when she stumbled head on into a mountain of a man named Akimichi Choza._

 _The big man put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You look famished girl. Come over and have something to eat." Choza chatted with her a while and gave her a huge plate of food before she was checked over in the medical tent. When the Akimichi Clan Head gave her the opportunity to join the Konoha Forces as a ninja Ilia jumped at the chance and was eventually assigned as a probationary genin on Team 19. The rest should have been simple_ _ **but**_ _…._

 _FLASHBACK END_ ….

"Hey kid! Are you in there?" boomed a woman's that shocked Ilia out of her musings. The chameleon faunus girl looked up and saw a rather beautiful kunoichi with a tan trench coat and purple hair. She projected a rather fearsome aura that Ilia found a bit intimidating.

"Ummm….yes?" asked Ilia.

The woman asked, "Are you Ilia Amitola from Team 19?"

Ilia snarled, "I _was_ on Team 19 until my stupid teammates started stealing and abusing their authority. They got caught and my team was dissolved."

The woman smiled ferally. "Then you are who I'm here to pick up. I'm Mitarashi Anko of Team 15 and you are my new genin per Hokage-sama's orders. Your jonin sensei Kisaragi gave good reports on you so you should do just fine." Anko handed Ilia's orders over to her with the Hokage's stamp on them stating she was part of Team 15 now.

The chameleon faunus girl was surprised and it showed on her face. "….Really?"

Ako nodded. "Yep, from now on you will address me as Anko-sensei. Your new teammates are Melanie and Miltia Malachite. They excel at taijutsu and from what I've read stealth is your specialty. That will work out nicely in my opinion. Let's go get some dango and I'll introduce you to your teammates."

….

 **Tenten's Weapon's Shop Heaven's Blade*①**

"So what do you guys think of the seal idea?" asked Tenten excitedly.

Naruto looked at Pyrrha. "It will give us a little extra spending cash."

Pyrrha said warmly, "Well, as long as it doesn't interfere with training or missions it will be a good reason to practice our fuinjutsu Naruto-kun."

That was when Tenten's Father Tengoku *② brought out the new Shear Trigger in its sword form and said, "Here you go Naruto. Give the new and improved Shear Trigger a feel."

Naruto's eyes lit up at the black and silver weapon he reverently took in his hands. "This looks amazing!" he said.

"Let's take it out back and you can test it out." said Tenten with a gleam in her eye. "I think you'll be impressed Naruto."

Out on the shooting range Naruto gave the Sheer Trigger a few test swings. Then he went through his sword katas that his teammates drilled into him over the last few weeks. Pyrrha smiled and said, "Excellent Naruto-kun. You are doing much better than you ever did with the original Shear Trigger."

Blake nodded and said, "You'll be far more effective with this. Stream some wind chakra down the blade."

The blade immediately started to glow blue along its edges and hummed in synch with Naruto's chakra. Tenten said eagerly, "Take a swing at a training post." Naruto slashed the post and it fell in half diagonally.

Blake's amber eyes gleamed. "That's it Naruto-kun, perfect!"

Naruto examined the cut and said, "This is as fine as the cut of a wind slash. I'm really overcome Tenten."

"Let's try it in gun form Naruto." said Tenten. "I'll show you how to transform it."

A few minutes later Tenten showed Naruto how to aim his new weapon and he'd fired a few rounds off. "This is awesome Tenten!" said the orange loving ninja. "There is virtually no kick and it can fire rounds rapidly without having to cock it every time."

"It looks like you can aim it better too Naruto-kun." said Pyrrha as she clapped happily. "After a bit of practice you'll be hitting things dead center."

Tenten said eagerly, "Just wait until you see what the elemental bullets can do…."

….

 **Dango Shop**

Mitarashi Anko led her new charge Ilia into the Dango Shop to meet up with Melanie and Miltia who were sitting and waiting in their traditional red and white battle dresses. They saw their eccentric sensei leading a petite girl in a dark grey and black stealth suit*③ in to meet them. Anko took a seat and said "Melanie-chan, Miltia-chan; this is Ilia Amitola. Ilia, this is Melanie and Miltia Malachite." Ilia bowed slightly and the twins returned the gesture. Anko motioned for Ilia to sit and ordered dango for everyone.

After they started eating Anko explained to Ilia, "Team 15 was barely formed when one of our members was transferred out to another team. Melanie and Miltia have been training separately so this is our second try at an official 'first team meeting.' Hokage-sama indicated that I was to train you three as a standard genin squad but Team 15 has also been designated as an Anti-Grimm squad so we'll be getting specialized weapons for the job. Melanie-chan and Miltia-chan are getting claws made so we need to pick out something for me and for you Ilia. What did you use back in Remnant?"

Ilia turned blue and froze. "H-how did you know I was from Remnant? I'm from Rice Country!"

Anko smiled predatorily and said, "Well there are several reasons why." She held up her hand and counted off on her fingers, "First there is your foreign name; second is you put Menagerie on your ninja application which is in Remnant and is the home of the faunus….and third you just turned blue when I mentioned Remnant."

Ilia face planted realizing she turned blue in fear….and that she accidentally put 'Menagerie' instead of 'Rice Country' by accident. Changing back to her normal complexion Ilia growled, "So you've caught me. Yes, I'm a faunus….what are you going to do about it?" Ilia tensed and got ready to fight.

Anko raised an eyebrow and said, "My adopted little sister is a faunus. It's just another bloodline here in Konoha."

Melanie's green eyes were wide, "So you can change color? Can you camouflage yourself? That would be a huge plus in battle!"

Miltia looked more calculating. "While Melanie nee-chan and I face enemies head on you could snipe them and remain hidden. _Cool_."

"These two are from Vale." explained Anko. "Part of the reason Hokage-sama picked you to be on this team is because you are all from Remnant so hopefully we'll all get along. You were stuck with a couple bad apples on Team 19. Team 15 will be much better."

Ilia relaxed a little bit and said, "I haven't seen any other faunus around….I just assumed that there was prejudice here too."

Miltia laughed, "My boyfriend Kiba-kun's whole clan can take on dog characteristics. They are a lot like faunus too. You are completely safe here in Konoha."

….

 **Training Ground 8**

Raven was sitting with her new teammates after she joined them during their morning exercise and sparring with Kurenai-sensei. They were eating one of Hinata's homemade lunches that Raven found delicious as Sakura once had. "This food is amazing Hinata! I can't believe you fixed it all yourself!" said the black haired sword wielder.

Hinata looked carefully at Raven and remembered another kunoichi saying something similar…. _"You fixed all this Hinata?" asked Sakura, "That's amazing!"_ ….is what the pinkette had said what seemed like a lifetime ago….Hinata pondered Raven's words and actions and noticed some things; the red eyed girl acted as if _she already knew them_. Her best friend was _Yamanaka Ino_. She was _extremely intelligent_. Lastly, Raven was from Remnant but hadn't ever said who she merged with.

' _On the other hand Haruno Sakura didn't have the kind of drive or strength Raven has_ ….' thought the byakugan princess. ' _Sakura was listed as KIA in the Oto War….I have to think on this carefully_.'

"A ryo for your thoughts Hinata-chan?" asked Kurenai. "You were totally zoned out there."

Hinata blushed a tiny bit. "I was just thinking that Raven-san seems to mesh really well with our team. I can't help but feel like she reminds me of somebody but I can't quite place my finger on it…."

Raven stopped mid swallow and thought, ' _I know Hinata is really smart but outside of Hokage-sama and Inoichi_ ….'

Kurenai said, "I'm sure it's coincidence Hinata-chan."

"You're right sensei." said Hinata with a smile. ' _I'll investigate this further with Kiba-kun's help. If her scent or chakra system matches Sakura then I'll talk to Kurenai-sensei about it_.' The pearl eyed beauty would have thought more on it but something caught her eye. Something _orange_ to be specific.

Team 7 was headed out to the training grounds when they saw Team 8 taking a break and decided to stop and visit. Pyrrha said, "Hello everyone!" with a wave to Team 8.

"Hey guys! Come sit with us!" said Kiba in his usual exuberant way.

Everyone exchanged greetings and sat down before Naruto asked Kurenai, "Any news on Shino Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai shook her head sadly and said, "Raven-san is filling Shino-kun's slot." Then Kurenai smiled slightly and said, "Our team is doing well all things considered. Raven is a good fit….But you know what that's like don't you Naruto?"

Naruto nodded and sighed. "It was tough at first but everything will work out. At least Shino is alive…." he added sadly.

Raven wanted to yell, _"It's me! I'm right here Naruto-kun!"_ but bit her tongue. ' _I can't slip up now_.' thought the red eyed girl.

Hinata spotted the new Shear Trigger and asked, "Did you get your new gunblade Naruto-kun?" with excitement in her voice.

The orange loving ninja drew the Shear Trigger out of its new holster and said happily, "Here it is Hinata-chan; the new and improved Shear Trigger!"

Blake said, "We were just taking it out to Training Ground 52 so Naruto-kun could practice with it. He's still learning you know." she added playfully as Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

"We should be heading out there now." said Pyrrha. "Thanks for letting us snack a bit on the leftovers Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled. "You are always welcome. Let me know how your new gunblade performs Naruto-kun."

"I will Hinata-chan." said the orange loving ninja. Turning to Pyrrha and Blake he asked, "Ready to go girls?"

Seeing both of his teammates/girlfriends nod in the affirmative Team 7 headed out to Training Ground 52….

….

 **Rain Country, Akatsuki Headquarters**

Two days later Konan was alerted to a message from Konoha's Hokage simply addressed to _Lord Pein, Leader of Rain Country_. Ordinarily she would have dismissed this because Nagato had ordered all diplomatic contact abolished long ago but something told the blue haired paper wielder to open this. She went into Nagato's chambers and said, "We have a letter from the Hokage Nagato."

Nagato's rinnegan eyes perked up a bit. "Why did you bring this to my attention? You know we broke ties with all outsiders."

"I think we should open it." said Konan. "Something tells me it's important."

"Very well." said the Leader of Rain Country. "See what it says."

Konan read it aloud:

 _From: Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of Konoha_

 _To: Lord Pein, Leader of Ame_

 _Concerning: The Creatures of Grimm_

 _Recently Creatures of Grimm have been spotted in the Elemental Nations and are known to be around Ame in particular. They are from outside the Elemental Lands and are easily identified by their black appearance and boney white armor. They are described as "creatures of destruction" and lack a soul. They are also drawn to feelings of negativity- such as envy, sadness, loneliness, and hatred- often congregating towards the source of these emotions. What exactly they are and how they reproduce is unknown to us as they dissolve upon death leaving behind the bodies of the animals they posses. We have theorized they are some kind of spirits but have no proof._

 _They have targeted humans for as long as can be remembered outside the Elemental Nations, seeking to destroy humanity and all of their creations. While Creatures of Grimm are initially mindless and heedless of risk during their youths, leading them to simply attack any humans on sight, some Grimm are so powerful that they have survived to live for hundreds of years. In that time, they have evolved and learned from their experiences fighting humanity. This leads them to exhibit restraint and the patience to avoid taking unnecessary casualties in futile conflicts; instead, they stay close to humanity's borders, waiting for the opportunity to come where they can finally strike. Because of this, mankind is in ever present danger, even in times of apparent peace._

 _Fire Country is currently not aware of their point of origin but we have determined that they must be exterminated at all costs lest they overrun the Elemental Nations. Attached is an intelligence report compiled by our jonins listing the various types of Creatures of Grimm we have identified and their weaknesses if known. I urge you to destroy these creatures whenever possible whether in concert with Konoha or other nations. The Elemental Nations cannot destroy these creatures individually. We must band together. If nothing else I urge you to read the attached intelligence reports and distribute them among your defenders._

 _-Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of Konoha_

Konan and Nagato sat in silence for a few moments. "So the monsters we have been facing are called Creatures of Grimm." said Konan as the pair looked through the intelligence report. "Nevermores, Ursas, Beowolves, Boarbatusks….We have seen many of these. If they feed on negative emotions it's no wonder that one ate Hidan and Zetsu….They were virtually _made_ of negativity." Konan shook her head. "Our land is infested with these creatures. We need to do something about it."

"What is it about Ame in particular that draws these Creatures of Grimm?" wondered Nagato aloud. "From what the Hokage says here it's logical to conclude there in a major source of negative energy here. The question is what…?"

Nagato and Konan had a lot to ponder….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

*① "Heaven's Blade Weapons Shop" -I had to name the place. I was sick of calling it "Tenten's Weapon's shop" generically when her Dad actually owns the place.

*② Tenten's Dad deserved a name too. Tengoku means 'Heaven' –Hence the shop's name "Heaven's Blade."

*③ Similar to Ilia's standard RWBY uniform.

The addition of Ilia Amitola wasn't originally planned but I like the character and her dedication to the White Fang (even if it's to the wrong side) –not to mention she's already a ninja for all intents and purposes. I wanted to round out Team 15 with another Remnant character as well. Also, the Third Hokage has sent out the warnings to the other Elemental Countries. How many will heed it? See you next time. Blue out 11/29/17


	29. Chapter 29

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is (again) character driven to set up the next arc. Here is chapter 29. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Last time:

 _Konan and Nagato sat in silence for a few moments. "So the monsters we have been facing are called Creatures of Grimm." said Konan as the pair looked through the intelligence report. "Nevermores, Ursas, Beowolves, Boarbatusks….We have seen many of these. If they feed on negative emotions it's no wonder that one ate Hidan and Zetsu….They were virtually_ _made_ _of negativity." Konan shook her head. "Our land is infested with these creatures. We need to do something about it."_

 _"What is it about Ame in particular that draws these Creatures of Grimm?" wondered Nagato aloud. "From what the Hokage says here it's logical to conclude there in a major source of negative energy here. The question is what…?"_

 _Nagato and Konan had a lot to ponder…._

….

Chapter 29

 **Fire Country, Konoha Village**

The message the Third Hokage sent out to the various nations was met with mixed results. Countries that didn't have the manpower to deal with Creatures of Grimm such as Grass Country, River country and Tea Country not only welcomed the information but also welcomed the idea of help from others. Suna and Konoha were in the midst of diplomatic overtures so it was simply another item added to the negotiations. Earth Country and Lightning sent curt thank you's for the information but apparently dismissed the idea.

And Ame and Kiri were silent….

Sarutobi Hiruzen had a good idea of what was going on in Ame because until very recently he had Uchiha Itachi there. Itachi was currently in Konoha as ANBU Weasel but the fact that the Hokage had Pein's name alone assured that the message at least got to Pein's attention (or so Hiruzen hoped) ….As for Kiri; with it being a separate island nation no one knew if Creatures of Grimm were even there. The Hokage sent his letter to the Mizukage Yagura but given how disrupted the lines of communications were there was no telling if the message reached Yagura or not.

….

Konoha was off war footing because the Oto War was finished but continued tensions with re-forging an alliance with Suna and the emergence of the Creatures of Grimm had the military forces of Fire Country on alert. The most surprising thing the Third Hokage ran across was a pair missions to help out in of all places; Takumi Village in River Country….*①

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

Anko and Blake were enjoying their morning tea. "So my new genin Ilia is a faunus too. She's a chameleon and can camouflage herself. You should meet her. She's very dedicated and is a cute little thing."

Blake perked up. ' _So it_ _ **is**_ _my good friend Ilia_.' "I'd like to meet her Anko nee-chan. I'm positive she's a friend of mine from Menagerie."

"Well, that's where she put she was from on her ninja application." said Anko with a snicker.

Blake sweat dropped and then face palmed. "Maybe we should go see Ilia together." ' _I defected from the White Fang after all. She might not be happy to see me_.'

"I'm surprised you aren't going over to your boyfriend's today." said Anko with a smile. "Old Naruto-kun might be getting lonely without you."

Blake's amber eyes lit up. "I would but his air conditioner is dying. He's stuck waiting around on the maintenance people from his apartment building. Naruto-kun figured he'd better be there in person instead of a shadow clone."

Anko laughed. "So you're leaving him to suffer alone in a sweltering hell?"

"I feel no guilt." said Blake. "I told him to leave a shadow clone and come hang out with me here."

The purple haired snake mistress grinned and said, "So cruel Blake-chan. Well, if you're free today let's meet up with Ilia-chan and do a little weapons shopping for my team."

….

 **Ilia's Apartment**

Ilia was looking over the incredibly Spartan living arrangements of her home and sighed. ' _Maybe investing in things other than a gun whip and an air mattress would have been a good idea. The closest thing I have to a chair is a bean bag. Oh well, I'll be equipped with a good weapon soon even if I'm making payments for a till the end of time_.' The chameleon faunus girl wasn't expecting a knock on the door of her little apartment and was expecting her sensei even less.

"Good morning Ilia-chan!" said Anko boisterously as Ilia opened the door. "I've got someone I want you to meet."

The chameleon girl's eyes nearly popped out of her head when Anko stepped aside and saw Blake standing there. Blake's ears perked up a bit and she gave a minimal smile. "Hello Ilia." said the amber eyed beauty.

Ilia gaped for a moment and then said, "Blake, is it really you?"

Blake nodded. "I kind of died and ended up here. I'm guessing you did the same…?"

Nodding sadly Ilia said, "The White Fang had me tracking you and I died in the process. It was hard."

"Were you at the CCT Tower at Beacon?" asked Blake.

Ilia nodded and her eyes from gray to turned blue with sadness. "It was awful." The chameleon girl found herself engulfed in a hug from Blake and after a moment of shock she returned her friend's hug.

After a few moments the two separated. Blake said, "I'm sorry you had to go through what I did. I'm glad you are here though. I died right after Beacon fell. I was hunting someone else."

The chameleon faunus girl said with watery eyes, "Please come inside. There's no need to stand in the hallway."

….

"So we're both a bit younger and you are roommates with Anko-sensei." said Ilia. "She said her adoptive little sister was a faunus but I never dreamed it was you."

The feline faunus girl nodded. "Life and death move in strange ways."

Ilia asked, "Why did you abandon the White Fang?"

Blake's eyes turned hard. "Adam Taurus started targeting innocents and didn't care who died to get his way. I couldn't stand it so I became a huntress to fight the Creatures of Grimm for everyone."

The brown haired girl looked affronted. "But what about the faunus?"

"I **_died_** for my beliefs and so did you. If there was a price to be paid you and I have already paid with interest." said Blake. She sighed. "People with faunus characteristics are treated equally here. There are so many bloodlines out there it's impossible to count."

Ilia looked down and said, "I guess there is no reason for us to fight. You are right that there is no bias here in Konoha towards us. I read about it in Kiri though."

Anko interjected, "Kiri's Civil War has driven a lot of bloodline clans completely out of the country. All the other Elemental Nations want it to end but don't have the military power to intervene. They don't call Kiri the Bloody Mist for nothing."

"It still seems wrong." said Ilia. "It's a wonder the Grimm haven't overrun the place."

"Their borders have been completely closed for years." said Blake. "I read up on Kiri too. I wish there was something we could do but they attack outsiders on sight."

….

 **Sushi Restaurant**

A little later Anko took Ilia and Blake out for lunch and was outvoted about going for dango. Ilia was chuckling as she saw Blake's look of pure happiness as she ate her seafood. "I'd forgotten how much you love tuna Blake."

Blake hummed happily. "Tuna is the absolute best."

After catching up for awhile the girls had discussed everything from their teammates to their weapons. Anko said, "Ilia-chan, your gun whip would fall under Anti Grimm weaponry. Since Team 15 is designated as an Anti Grimm Unit the Konoha Ninja Corps will pay for your weapon. You don't need to live on breadcrumbs to pay for your gear."

Ilia burst into anime tears. "Really?! Thank you sensei! Now I can afford luxury items like a bed and….and even chairs! I'm so happy!"

Blake sweat dropped and Anko looked a bit uncomfortable about her student blubbering about something as mundane as _chairs_. "Let's go over to Heaven's Blade and get the money transferred from the gun whip into your regular account. Maybe we can pick out a weapon for me while we're at it Ilia-chan."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto and Pyrrha had been working on fuinjutsu seals since early in the morning and the air conditioner in Naruto's apartment was not working at all. Worse yet the apartment maintenance couldn't get the parts until tomorrow. The two teens were sweating rivers and Naruto was down to shorts and a t-shirt. He had a small towel draped around his neck to soak up the sweat rolling off his damp hair. The blonde poured himself another glass of ice water out of the pitcher in between them. Naruto was about to offer Pyrrha another glass as she chugged one herself. That was when Naruto noticed the sweat roll down her chin, down her creamy white neck and into the valley of her breasts.

Pyrrha had come over in her armor but as the apartment increased in temperature she'd kicked off her leggings and breastplate leaving her in a red tank top and shorts. She had the urge to simply dump the ice water over her head to cool down. ' _It's so hot in here_ ….' thought the redhead as she peered over her glass only to see Naruto's hungry eyes drinking in her voluptuous form. She gave him a sultry smile on instinct and poured the water ever so slowly down her chin and bosom. Her green eyes were full of lust and she said, "These clothes are way too hot _Na-ru-to-kun_."

Naruto's mouth went dry he whispered, " _Pyrrha-chan_ …."

The redhead smiled and asked; "Do you like what you see?" as she motioned to her now soaked tank top.

The blonde felt an incredible tightness in his shorts as her came slowly around the table and kissed her so passionately that her entire body felt flushed. As the two kissed and caressed each other Pyrrha managed to get Naruto's shorts off and he removed her tank top only to start suckling on her delicious breasts. Pyrrha gasped in pleasure at the sensations as she managed to guide Naruto down into the kitchen chair and sat in his lap straddling him so he had full access to her luscious bosom. As he kissed, licked and nibbled on her the redhead reached down and started to stroke his rock hard member.

"We never got to finish what we started in my room." said Pyrrha as she kissed Naruto heatedly. "Let me please you." She pushed off Naruto and slid down to her knees and whispered, "Spread your legs Naruto-kun. I want to taste you." Naruto was in a haze as his red headed goddess started slowly, sensually teasing his member with her tongue and delicately caressed his testicles with her fingertips. She tongue kissed his shaft and took it halfway into her mouth before she smiled at the look of utter rapture on her lover's face. When she pulled back slowly he saw a ribbon of saliva between her lips and his head….

Naruto frantically threw his t-shirt off and she smiled hungrily before she took him back in her mouth with agonizing slowness. Naruto stared in rapt attention as she backed off and then took him further in her heated mouth. Every time Naruto thought he would explode his redheaded vixen would back off again making him groan in agony and ecstasy. Finally she engulfed his entire member to the hilt in her velvety mouth and the blonde had an earth shattering orgasm that left him panting and wheezing. He looked at Pyrrha's smiling face as she licked her fingers clean of his essence. His eyes widened when she said, " _That was fun. Let's do it again…._ "

….

Hours later the young couple was lying in Naruto's bed with the covers kicked off. They'd made love to each other several times in the kitchen floor before the pair moved to the more comfortable bed. The pair dozed in each other's arms for some time before they realized Pyrrha needed to go home to the Yamanakas because they'd be expecting her home for dinner. She took a cool shower with Naruto before she dried off and got dressed. Pyrrha gave him a long, gentle kiss and said, "I love you Naruto-kun."

Naruto kissed her forehead and said, "I love you too Pyrrha-chan. I wish you could stay tonight."

The radiant redhead gave him a shy smile and said, "I'll be back for more." She then pivoted and walked away with some extra sway in her hips….

….Naruto smiled as she disappeared from view and decided he'd better clean up the kitchen before he went back to bed to dream about his girlfriends…. _'I guess being without an air conditioner has it's plusses_ ….' The blonde thought wistfully.

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha got home feeling high on life. Her green eyes were bright and full of contentment. The flower shop was already closed for the evening. The radiant redhead found Ino and Raven in the kitchen. Ayano and Inoichi were nowhere to be seen. "Hello again!" said Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha-chan; welcome home!" said Ino. "Mama and Daddy went out to dinner so it's just us girls this evening." Ino then added, "No offense but your hair looks a little disheveled Pyrrha-chan."

The gladiator almost gasped but then said, "The air conditioner in Naruto-kun's apartment was broken so we got really sweaty while we working on fuinjutsu tags."

"You must be really dedicated to work all day in those conditions." said Raven. "Was it for those elemental bullets Ino-chan told me about?"

"Yes, elemental bullets and cartridges." said the redhead with a nod. "On that note I think I will take a shower and change clothes. It got _really_ hot." Having covered up a potential powder keg Pyrrha quickly went to take a shower….

….

Ino and Raven were soon back to talking. They had been discussing Shino's condition and now were talking about Team 8. "I really like my teammates." said Raven. "Kurenai-sensei is very proactive and has already taught me some new genjutsus."

"So what do you think of Kiba and Hinata-chan?" asked the blonde kunoichi.

"Kiba is really boisterous and he and Akamaru are lots of fun." said Raven. "Hinata is sweet and kind but she's a very serious kunoichi. I'm glad she's on our side."

"I just wish I could eat her cooking at our team lunches." said Ino dreamily.

Raven chuckled. "Hinata really spoils us with her cooking. She could be a professional chef if she wanted to be."

The girls laughed and Ino asked, "So what do you think of Team 7?"

"Both Pyrrha and Blake are very competent kunoichis from what I can tell." said Raven.

Ino said slyly, "And what about Naruto-kun?"

Raven got a slight blush. "I think he's handsome."

"He's really strong too." said Ino dreamily. "I wonder if he has a girlfriend."

"He seems to be really close to his teammates and Hinata-chan." said Raven.

"I know." agreed Ino. "Maybe we should ask Pyrrha-chan. I'll bet she knows _everything_."

….

Pyrrha came out of the shower feeling refreshed and got on some clean clothing. As she came into the kitchen she saw Ino was in full gossip mode and had a gleam in her eye. ' _I wonder what's on Ino-chan's mind_ ….' thought the redhead.

Ino asked, "So Pyrrha-chan; you are pretty good friends with Naruto-kun aren't you?"

The redhead nodded and thought, ' _After what we did earlier today I'd say so_.' Pyrrha stifled a perverse giggle at the thought of Naruto taking her repeatedly from behind while she was bent over the kitchen table and said, "Yes, I think so."

Raven asked shyly, "Do you think Naruto-kun has a girlfriend?"

All the wheels turning in Pyrrha's head came screeching to a halt and she took a few seconds to get started again.

"Is everything alright Pyrrha-chan?" asked Ino.

Pyrrha smiled robotically and said, "Everything is fine. I think you'd have to ask Naruto-kun." ' _There is no way I'm admitting that I'm one of his three girlfriends. We all have an unspoken agreement to not say anything_.'

"Awww, I want details Pyrrha-chan!" whined Ino. "Surely you know _something_ about Naruto-kun's personal life."

"Hmmm….maybe but I think asking Naruto-kun directly is your best option." said Pyrrha. Her fake smile was so big that her eyes were squinted by now.

Ino sighed. "You're no fun tonight Pyrrha-chan."

"I just respect Naruto-kun's privacy; that's all." replied the redhead. ' _Not to mention Blake-chan, Hinata-chan and I_.'

' _I guess we have no choice but asking Naruto-kun himself_.' thought Ino. ' _Of course I could always interrogate Hinata-chan_.' the blonde kunoichi pondered mischievously.

….

 **Training Ground 15**

The next morning Team 15 was assembled for practice at their official training grounds because the Hokage wouldn't let Anko use Training Ground 44….

"Okay kiddies! Today we're going to practice by me chasing the three of you around with a chain whip!" said Anko happily.

Ilia, Miltia and Melanie's eyes enlarged to epic proportions and Melanie squeaked out, " _Why_ sensei?"

The purple haired snake mistress cackled. "Well, I need practice training with a whip because Ilia-chan gave me the idea for an extendable snake sword.*② I'm having one made for me."

The Malachite twins glared daggers at Ilia who was standing in between them facing their sensei. "Don't blame me; she's the sadist here!" said the chameleon faunus girl while pointing at the sadist otherwise known as Anko.

"Let's see how agile you girls are." said Anko menacingly as she cracked her whip.

All three genins were sweating in fear when Ilia's skin turned red. She said, "We have no choice but to attack! _CHARGE!_ "

"Ahahaha! That's the spirit girls! Victory or die!" laughed Anko.

….

Three hours later Melanie, Milta and Ilia were all exhausted and laying on the ground on their backs. Anko was sitting against a tree trunk looking worn out herself. The snake jonin panted out, "Good workout girls. (pant) You were really working hard today. I didn't strap any of you even once. (pant) Of course I was aiming to miss but still; very good teamwork."

"You mean that was just a spar?" wheezed out Ilia.

"I thought I was going to die." said Melanie weakly.

"I'm with you nee-chan." croaked out Miltia.

"We're an Anti-Grimm Unit." said Anko. "That means we have to improve by leaps and bounds. Take the afternoon off and rest. Tomorrow morning we'll go over what you did right and what you did wrong. We're going to be the best girls."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Meanwhile Teams 7 and 8 were sparring together under Kakashi and Kurenai's watchful eyes. Team 10 and Asuma were there as well watching carefully as they'd already had their turn sparring. The jonin senseis had come up with the idea of more combined training for the genin teams to bring everyone up to par. Gai's Team 9 would have been there as well but they had a mission.

Since Naruto had the Shear Trigger all of Team 7 had Remnant style weapons. (Although Kakashi mentioned something about getting a cane too). Team 8 also had Anti Grimm weapons now with the addition of Kurenai getting a chokuto and Kiba acquiring a pair of katars from the Inuzuka Clan vault. The katars had been a weapon of choice among the Inuzukas before they had learned to mimic their canine companions with jutsus. They were modified by Tenten and had three cartridges in each blade of the same type as Hinata's Gemini blades to add an elemental punch to them. The katars were also retractable but when extended they had about 24 inches of reach. Tsume had gladly given her son permission to use them and Kiba was absolutely thrilled that the weapons of his Great-Grandfather were now in his hands with improvements.

Naruto was sparring with Raven and the red eyed girl was teaching him some moves with her O-katana. The blonde was learning and adapting to the Shear Trigger rapidly now that he had the basics down. Going slowly through the motions with Raven allowed Naruto to learn some new tricks but he wasn't going to be learning Iaido anytime soon. His methods with the sword leaned more towards traditional dueling than quick draw techniques. Naturally Naruto was learning from Blake and Pyrrha as well.

Kiba was also learning but luckily for him the Inuzuka style of taijutsu was originally designed to work with katars. Needless to say the dog ninja took to the katars like a fish to water. His sparring partner was Hinata who was using her Gemini Blades in their sword forms. "That's it Kiba-kun!" encouraged Hinata. "Try not to overextend when you thrust with the katars." She added as Kiba shot by her after she nimbly avoided his strike.

The dog ninja skidded to a halt and said, "I'm not used to this extra weight yet." Akamaru barked and Kiba said, "I know boy; that's why we're sparring. Ready Hinata-chan?" seeing Hinata nod Kiba charged back in eagerly.

Team 10 watched as Kiba struck low and Hinata leapt acrobatically over him. They also were observing as Naruto practiced his overhead strikes along with Raven. Pyrrha was in a fierce kenjutsu match with Blake. Choji's eyes widened as sparks started flying between the two huntress's blades. "They are _really_ good." He said as he shoveled in a handful of potato chips. "This is intense."

Asuma smiled at his charges. ' _My team is really improving but Kakashi and Kurenai's teams are still way ahead_.' "Look at the positive side guys. You can keep up with them visually. You are already adjusting to the speeds they are going at. You did well sparring earlier."

"What speed do you estimate they are moving at Asuma-sensei?" asked Shikamaru.

Asuma rubbed his chin. "They are all at solid chunin speeds except Blake. She's at low jonin speeds but then again she was always ahead in swiftness."

"Wow. So that's our next goal." said Ino. ' _Pyrrha-chan is unbelievably strong. Blake is evading her but can't penetrate her defenses_.'

"What do you think about the Anti-Grimm equipment sensei?" asked Choji. "We would have a definite edge with gear like that."

Asuma shrugged. "We're not designated as an Anti-Grimm team but we could start practicing with specialized weapons like my trench knives. We could start with some bokkens if you like."

"We'd each need to pick something unique." said Ino.

"I'd stick with a short sword." said Shikamaru. "Anything else would be too high maintenance and troublesome."

Ino face palmed and Choji smiled. "That is just the philosophy I would expect from you Shika." said the Akimichi heir with a laugh.

….

 **Konoha Hot Springs**

Ilia, Melanie and Miltia decided Team 15 needed a good soak in the hot springs after their wild workout that morning. "Well, Anko-sensei is unconventional but I have to admit that she really pushed us to new limits." said Ilia as she sank a little further into the warm water. ' _This is heavenly_.' she thought.

"No kidding." said Miltia. "Gai-sensei drove us hard on taijutsu forms and building up our endurance but Anko-sensei forced us to think on our feet and really use those skills."

Melanie nodded. "Anko-sensei has a completely different approach but I think we'll improve quickly….if we survive that is."

Miltia and Ilia sweat dropped. "Way to ruin the mood nee-chan." griped Miltia.

Team 15 had a lot to learn about Mitarashi Anko and the method to her madness….

….

 **Ichiraku's Ramen**

After a long hard day of sparring, Naruto, Blake, Pyrra and Hinata went out for ramen. Hinata smiled and said, "It's good that your air conditioner is fixed Naruto-kun. You had box fans everywhere."

"Yeah, maintenance finally came by this morning." said Naruto. "They had the parts and presto! I had cool air again."

"Now we can stop by your apartment without having to worry about heat exhaustion." said Blake humorously. "Off topic but you guys need to meet my friend Ilia. She's a faunus too."

"Does she have kawaii ears like yours Blake-chan?" asked the blonde ninja.

Blake got a tiny blush and said, "No, Ilia can change her color like a chameleon. She's great at stealth and joined Anko nee-chan's team."

"So she filled Raven's slot on Team 15?" asked Pyrrha. Seeing Blake nod the redhead said quietly, "Then Team 15 is an all Remnant Team."

Hinata sipped her drink. "As I understand it, Team 15 is designated as an Anti-Grimm Team like 7 and 8."

"They still have a lot of training before they are ready from what nee-chan says." said Blake. "She is working her team hard."

"As expected of Anko." said Hinata. "She can be a real slave driver when she wants to be."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "You have to admit that Anko-san gets results though. I'm sure their hard work will pay off."

….

 **Konoha Mission Hall**

The next morning both Teams 7 and 8 reported in to pick up missions. Iruka said, "The Hokage has designated your two teams to go to the Takumi Village. We have an Anti-Grimm request there as well as a mission to go there and pick up a large load of weaponry for future Anti-Grimm Teams. They are one of the few places that make weapons of high enough quality in the quantities we need. Since the two missions are both to the same place and are B ranked it makes sense for both teams to go and back each other up. Your main contact in Takumi Village is Hōki who will give you further instructions when you arrive."

….

The two teams were soon discussing their combined mission parameters. "So we're headed back to River Country." said Kakashi. "My guess is some of the Creatures of Grimm Bishamon left behind are marauding the area around Takumi Village. We are going to be carrying a fortune in gold in scrolls to pay for the weapons as well so we'll need to take care. What do you think Kurenai?"

"We may as well operate as one cohesive unit." said the red eyed jonin. "We can drop the money off, deal with the Grimm problem and then pick up the weapons and bring them back to Konoha." Once the two jonins were in agreement the genins were given their orders. Kurenai said, "Everybody pack for two weeks just in case. Meet at the front gates in two hours. Kakashi and I will secure the money."

….

Two hours later the two teams hit the road on their combined transport/extermination mission. They had no idea what they were getting into….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

*①Takumi no Sato (The Hidden Artisan Village) is an Anime only location that is in River Country. They are known for high quality weapons.

*② The snake sword is based on Ivy's weapon _Valentine_ in the game _Soulcalibur_ although the idea has been used elsewhere. One of my anonymous reviewers also mentioned the idea so kudos to them (whoever they may be).

This chapter ran a bit short but we are at a good stopping point because the next arc is starting. It is tentatively named _To catch a thief_. See you next time. Blue out. 12/3/17


	30. Chapter 30

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

There aren't any huge battles in this one given it's character driven. It's an interlude because it is self contained and not really long enough to be a chapter. Here is interlude/chapter 30. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

{ } Signifies a foreign language.

Last time:

 ** _Konoha Mission Hall_**

 _The next morning both Teams 7 and 8 reported in to pick up missions. Iruka said, "The Hokage has designated your two teams to go to the Takumi Village. We have an Anti-Grimm request there as well as a mission to go there and pick up a large load of weaponry for future Anti-Grimm Teams. They are one of the few places that make weapons of high enough quality in the quantities we need. Since the two missions are both to the same place and are B ranked it makes sense for both teams to go and back each other up. Your main contact in Takumi Village is Hōki who will give you further instructions when you arrive."_

 _…._

 _The two teams were soon discussing their combined mission parameters. "So we're headed back to River Country." said Kakashi. "My guess is some of the Creatures of Grimm Bishamon left behind are marauding the area around Takumi Village. We are going to be carrying a fortune in gold in scrolls to pay for the weapons as well so we'll need to take care. What do you think Kurenai?"_

 _"We may as well operate as one cohesive unit." said the red eyed jonin. "We can drop the money off, deal with the Grimm problem and then pick up the weapons and bring them back to Konoha." Once the two jonins were in agreement the genins were given their orders. Kurenai said, "Everybody pack for two weeks just in case. Meet at the front gates in two hours. Kakashi and I will secure the money."_

 _…._

 _Two hours later the two teams hit the road on their combined transport/extermination mission. They had no idea what they were getting into…._

 _…._

 ** _Chapter 30 Interlude: To Catch a Thief_**

 **River Country, Takumi Village**

The Village of Takumi's Leader was a ninja named Hōki and he was one of the few in Takumi that practiced the ninja arts. He was a bladed weapons specialist as well as a formidable tactician and strategist. He also held a grudge. When Takumi village faced hard times they requested help but they were ignored by the other shinobi villages. Certain skilled Takumi villagers grew resentful and felt the villages didn't respect them for all the help their weapons provided in the past. Hōki had several ideas on how to get revenge but he wasn't stupid. The idea of taking on either of their most powerful neighbors (Konoha and Suna) that were having border tensions would be suicide for a small village like Takumi.

That didn't mean he couldn't profit monetarily at their expense though….

Hōki looked over his shoulder at a pair of red eyes in the back of the darkened room. "You know what to do. When the Konoha Ninjas arrive their scrolls with the gold in them will _conveniently_ disappear." He smiled. "The _other_ Creatures of Grimm will keep them busy while you escape." The red eyes nodded and vanished completely into the darkness.

….

 **Fire Country/River Country Border**

Teams 7 and 8 made good time to the River Country Border in three days. Kakashi gave a double eye smile as the group ate breakfast. "Amazingly this mission has gone out without a hitch. We haven't even run into Grimm or bandits. We'll be at the Artisan Village by noon so we'll be right on schedule. There may be Creatures of Grimm in the area around the village so everyone be on guard."

"Why have we not done more business with this village if they are so skilled?" asked Pyrrha. "It seems odd to me that they wouldn't be in demand."

Kurenai answered, "A hundred years ago Takumi Village was highly successful but as our own weapons makers and forges grew in skill and quality the demand for the Artisan Village fell out of popularity. If you want a special blade they make excellent ones though. My chokuto is a family heirloom and was made in Takumi for my Grandfather. It's still as sharp as if it was when new."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "I have a feeling that Takumi Village is going to see a huge increase in business with all of the Grimm running around."

….

 **Takumi Village**

By midday the Konoha ninjas arrived at Takumi and were directed to see Hōki who was waiting for them at the armory. He seemed very annoyed and edgy. Introductions were made and Hōki said, "Ever since that nukenin Bishamon came through the area those Creatures of Grimm have been running rampant in the vicinity and terrorizing my village."

Kakashi said, "Grimm are a dangerous threat to all of us. They've been loose in Fire Country as well as River, Rain and Grass Countries. They can't be controlled and-"

"Bishamon seemed to control them just fine." growled Hōki. "I have to wonder if you Konoha ninjas can't control them as well."

"That's ridiculous!" said Blake affronted. "We put our lives on the line every day to stop those creatures!"

The other genins were looking mutinous when Kurenai held up a hand to silence them. She was also incensed but hid it well. "Hoki-san, needless accusations will not help. We are here to get rid of the Grimm in the area on Konoha's money, not yours. That should be proof enough. Regardless we also have business to conduct."

Hōki took a deep breath and calmed himself. "We haven't had time to seal up all of the new blades yet. If you'll give me the gold so my people can count it I'll let you inspect the blades in the meantime. Once we've settled our accounts then you can wipe out the Creatures of Grimm in the area. Is that agreeable?"

Kakashi said, "Fair enough." He turned to the two teams. "Let's give them the gold and then you genins can look at the blades like Kurenai's chokuto. I'm sure we'll all be impressed."

The genins produced three scrolls full of gold bars and set them on the counter. Hōki nodded in satisfaction. "So you say your blade was made here Kurenai-san?"

"It's served my family well for three generations." said Kurenai with a smile.

"As should be expected." said Hōki with satisfaction. He turned around and said, "Let me call my accountants. Natsumi, Yuki! Come out here and bring your ledgers; the Konoha ninjas are here with the payment."

The two accountants came out and motioned to Kakashi, "Open them please, we aren't chakra wielders."

Kakashi wanted to sigh but said, "Certainly."

About that time they heard a tremendous roar and a pack of Beowolves and Boarbatusks appeared from nowhere. They charged the Konoha ninjas who were caught off guard. "They're back!" shrieked Natsumi as she and Yuki dived for cover.

As the Beowolves and Boarbatusks closed the range Teams 7 and 8 sprang into action and met them head on. The clash was bloody and Kurenai saw three Beowolves knock Hōki aside as he drew his blade. Then they grabbed the three scrolls of gold and ran. The genjutsu mistress was too busy fighting Grimm to go chasing after gold bars and cut down a Boarbatusk that made the mistake of exposing its belly by leaping at her.

Naruto drew his Shear Trigger in gun form and blew the head off of a Beowolf before switching to sword form and cutting another down. Not to be outdone, Kiba extended his Katars and did a passing fang attack that bisected two Grimm before they could counter.

Hinata drew her Gemini Blades and quickly started streaming fire chakra along them which was fatal for several Grimm. Pyrrha likewise had her blade in hand and was protecting civilians along with Kurenai and Blake. The carnage was over within fifteen minutes….

"What the hell?" yelled Kiba. "How did they get the jump on us?"

Pyrrha said, "We were very fortunate that they were so weak. If they hadn't been civilians would have been hurt."

"The important thing is the Creatures of Grimm are all dead." said Raven with a bit of self satisfaction in her voice.

" _A LIKELY STORY!_ " roared Hōki. "While you were _conveniently_ defeating all those weak ones three strong ones came through and stole all the gold! You Konoha ninjas set this up!"

The Konoha ninjas all looked scandalized but Kakashi remained calm and replied. "Creatures of Grimm are out to destroy mankind and his works. I don't even know if the thought of stealing ever crossed their minds. Your accusations are patently ridiculous."

Kurenai said, "I saw the three the stole the gold. They did absolutely no property damage and only pushed you back Hōki. You were wide open and those Grimm should have ripped you apart. How do we know they weren't ninjas under a henge?"

"If they were then you Konoha ninjas sent them Kurenai-san." growled Hōki. "I'm not about to hand over all these weapons on good faith. Either retrieve the gold or go back to Konoha and get the payment you owe the Artisan Village. Our business is done here."

"What about the Grimm issue?" asked Naruto incredulously.

"They never attacked in those numbers until you Konoha ninjas arrived." said Hōki. "Get out of my village and don't come back without payment!" He then stormed back into the armory and slammed the door behind him.

….

 **East of Takumi Village**

"Well, that could have gone better." said Kakashi with a double eye smile.

Everyone else sweat dropped. Kurenai said, "Be serious Kakashi. We need to recover that gold."

Kakashi sighed. "Good humor is so hard to find these days." (Naruto groaned). "What do you genins think we should do?"

' _Ransack the town and take the weapons by force_.' thought Raven. ' _That would teach those bastards a lesson. Of course it would make Konoha look bad_ ….' She noticed Kakashi was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. ' _Oz, you jerk!_ ' she thought to herself.

Blake said, "The Grimm we fought all charged in from the south side of town and headed north as far as we know. We should head north and look for trails."

"That's a good idea but we don't have their scent and the Takumi Villagers won't let us back into town to pick up a trail." said Kiba.

Hinata's eyes ignited. "We could follow the scent of the scrolls Kiba-kun. Blake-chan, Pyrrha-chan and I carried those scrolls full of gold all the way from Konoha. Our scents should be on them."

Pyrrha smiled. "Then we head to the north end of Takumi Village and let Kiba and Akamaru try to pick up the trail.'

"Now you are thinking!" said Kakashi. "I'll summon Pakkun to help."

' _Not the dogs again!_ ' thought Blake with a face palm. ' _Of all the contracts that Kakashi-sensei had to have it would have to be dogs!_ '

Pakkun appeared in a puff of smoke and asked, "What's new Kakashi? Any more funerals for you lately? I wasn't invited to the last one." he added wiping a fake tear from his eye.

Kakashi sweat dropped and said, "We have a scent to follow. We've been robbed."

The miniature pug asked, "How did you manage that?" and Kakashi soon explained the situation.

Pakkun nodded. "I'll slip into town and pick up the scent there. Let me get a good whiff of Blake, Pyrrha and Hinata before I do." Smelling the girls the pug thought to himself, ' _They all have Naruto's scent all over them. Must be his mate_ s.' He barked to Akamuru, { _You are with me pup. I'll teach you some things about tracking_.}

Akamaru barked and looked up at Kiba who smiled and nodded. ' _Shame I can't go and learn too_.' thought Kiba glumly.

Soon the two ninken were off….

….

Pakkun and Akamaru wandered into town and kept to the shadows and out of sight. A few people noticed them but assumed they were just strays.

The two dogs soon trailed south to north and found the scent of the genins at the armory. Sniffing around the two hopped behind the counter where Natsumi and Yuki were working. Natsumi said, "What cute little dogs! That one even has a vest."

Pakkun said to Akamaru, { _I've got the scents. Sniff around over here and get the trail_.}

Yuki and Natsumi were oohing and aahing over the two little dogs when the pair of canines hopped back up off the counter and into the street.

Hōki came out wondering what the two girls were being so loud about and Yuki said, "Hōki-san, those two dogs are adorable. Do you know who they belong to?"

The Takumi leader sighed. "I've never seen those dogs before. They must be strays."

"But the pug has a little vest." said Natsumi. "He must belong to someone."

Hōki looked at the pug with the vest and thought, ' _Who wastes their time dressing a dog?_ ' Then Hōki's sharp eyes trailed up to the top of Pakkun's head where the pug had his Konoha forehead protector. ' _What the hell?!'_ " ** _CATCH THOSE TWO DOGS!_** " yelled the Takumi village leader.

As the angry Hōki vaulted the desk to catch them; Pakkun barked to Akamaru, { _Run like hell and follow the trail! Don't lose it! Wait for me outside of town and I'll distract him!_ } Akamaru ran north and Pakkun reversed course and went south running between the irate leader of Takumi's legs.

"Dammit!" growled Hōki as he also turned back south after the pug. While Akamaru followed the trail of the three girls Pakkun antagonized Hōki into a rage by leading him in and out of windows, under houses, through thorn bushes and administered the _coup de grâce_ by peeing on the fuming village leader. By the time the enraged Hōki got the dog piss out of his burning eyes the pug was long gone….

….

A half an hour later a rather smug pug was lecturing to his canine disciple, {…. _And_ _ **that**_ _grasshopper, is how you make a distraction_.} Akamaru barked happily at his new sensei in the way of canines.

Kiba heard the two dogs conversing and wondered what had been going on in town. Between Hōki's angry yelling and people screeching (not to mention the crashing and probable property damage) Kiba thought the village was under attack.

"Kakashi asked, "So what was all the noise Pakkun?" which was the question on all of the ninja's minds.

Akamaru and Pakkun high fived/pawed and the elder ninken said haughtily, "That was just a little distraction my dear Kakashi."

The silver haired jonin sweat dropped and said, "I assume you got the trail?"

The pug nodded and said, "Akamaru did. The trail leads due north. Follow me and we'll find the girl."

"It's a girl?" asked Pyrrha curiously.

"Yes, it's a young girl. My nose never lies." said Pakkun.

….

 **North of Takumi Village**

The Konoha ninjas slipped through the trees in silence as the two ninkens followed the trail of the elusive little girl through a heavily swampy area that was between two streams. "She's here." said Pakkun as he motioned towards a small grove of trees.

"I don't see anything." said Naruto. "Hinata-chan?"

Hinata activated her byakugan and said, "There she is. Genjutsu kai!"

A tree house appeared and Kurenai said, "That was a very impressive genjutsu."

They saw two red eyes peer out of an opening in the tree house and then they widened to epic proportions. A little girl's voice squealed, "Cinder! It's really you! Yaaay!" A little girl then quickly climbed down out of the tree house and ran towards Hinata with open arms. She had mocha skin and mint green hair. Her red eyes were filled with happiness as she hugged Hinata and said, "I'm so happy to see you Cinder; you're my favorite person!"

After getting over her initial shock; Hinata smacked the girl lightly on top of the head and said, "Emerald Sustrai! Where is all the gold?"

The little girl rubbed the top of her head and said, "It's in my tree house. Why are you angry? Waaaah!"

Hinata said irritably, "Stop crying. That was MY gold."

"OOOOHHHH!" said the little girl in understanding. "Hōki-san told me to take it. I didn't know it was yours. Otherwise I would have kicked him in the nuts."

"Who is this chibi Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto as he looked at the little girl dressed in white, brown and green.

Emerald said indignantly, "I'm not a chibi, I'm eight years old! I'm a big girl."

Pyrrha and Blake both gawked at the miniature Emerald. "Is that really you Emerald?" asked Blake. Pyrrha nodded in dumbfounded agreement.

"Blake? ….And the invincible girl? What are you doing here and why are you so big?" asked the mint haired girl.

"Oh boy…." groaned Hinata. "Emerald, you will address me as Hinata from now on."

"Okay, but why?" asked the chibi Emerald. "And why are your eyes all white?"

Hinata face palmed and said, "I'll answer your questions later. Now go get the three scrolls with the gold in them."

As the little girl scampered off to get the gold; Kurenai asked, "Who is she Hinata-chan? I'm sure she's from Remnant but-"

"Emerald Sustrai was one of my disciples." said Hinata tiredly. "She is incredibly gifted with thievery and illusions. But somehow she's been de-aged. I'm at a loss."

Blake and Pyrrha were chuckling much to Hinata's chagrin. "Looks like you are a Mommy." said Kakashi helpfully.

Hinata got a flat look and said menacingly, "Don't make me burn your hair off Kakashi…."

About that time Emerald came running up with the three scrolls of gold. "Here you go Cind-I mean Hinata!"

….

….Soon everyone was sitting around a campfire eating and Emerald was explaining the situation. "Hōki-san had us capture weak Creatures of Grimm and cage them south of the village. Then when you Konoha ninjas arrived I cast an illusion over the street so when we released them they would appear out of nowhere. Pretty slick huh?"

Kurenai nodded and said, "You must have genjutsu skills on par with the Kurama Clan to pull an illusion like that off."

Hinata asked, "What happened after that Emerald?"

"I made an illusion of three Beowolves swiping the gold while I picked it up." explained the mint haired girl. "Then I got out of town and hid in my tree house until Hōki-san came to get me and pick up the gold."

Kakashi eye smiled and said, "Well, it seems this little caper has come to a close then….Isn't that right Hōki-san?"

Hōki came out of the nearby underbrush and glared at the Konoha ninjas and Emerald. He said, "So you caught my little thief, what are you going to do about it?" He had his hand on the hilt of his blade.

Kurenai stood up and said, "Nothing. We have no reason to fight you. We're going to go back home to Konoha and ban any further buying from the Artisan Village as you can no longer be trusted."

The Takumi Village Leader gasped. "What? But my Village needs income! We spent a fortune in raw materials to make those blades for Konoha. Don't you need them?"

"You'll have to go to Konoha and negotiate with the Hokage personally." said Kakashi. "You already broke the contract with us so I figure you owe Konoha a really big apology. Anyway, it's no longer our problem. We are leaving."

Hōki drew his black sword and said, "I think you should reconsider your way of thinking." Three other ninjas appeared behind him wearing the Takumi Village Emblem on their headbands.

The Konoha ninjas all drew their weapons and Kurenai asked, "Do you think you can win a war against Konoha? Think carefully before you and your friends act Hōki-san…."

The massive killing intent coming off the Konoha ninjas was enough to make Hōki and his men pause but the changes in the cloud pattern above made them genuinely worry. Naruto was subconsciously using the Typhoon Release and the sky was growing dark. Naruto's eyes blazed blue with power as the wind picked up and started blowing the leaves off nearby trees. Hōki and his men had to use chakra in their feet and bodies to keep themselves from being blown away.

"This isn't worth it Hōki." said one of his friends. "That boy is controlling the weather. He could level our village. We've lost this one."

Hōki put his sword away and said, "I will go and negotiate with the Hokage and issue a formal apology." The wind died down but Naruto's eyes continued to glow brightly. Hōki then said, "Sorry for the trouble. Go in peace Konoha shinobi." The four Takumi ninjas turned and headed back to their village….

….

 **Eastern Fire Country**

The next day the Konoha ninjas were travelling back towards home along with Emerald who had latched on to Hinata as a Mother/big sister figure. "So we can't go back to Vale or any place in Remnant?" she asked Hinata.

The bykugan princess sighed. "The Elemental Nations are our home now Emerald. From now on we serve Konoha and Fire Country."

Kurenai smiled and thought. ' _Hinata-chan will probably make a good sensei and Mother someday_.' "Don't worry Emerald; you'll have a place to stay. You won't be on the streets."

Emerald sighed in relief before she was scooped up by Naruto to ride on his back piggyback style. "You are getting tired Em-chan. Let me do the walking for awhile. When we get back to Konoha I'll introduce you to Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi. They are friends of mine that are about your age."

Feeling put at ease by the orange wearing ninja; the mint haired girl was soon fast asleep on Naruto's back….

Hinata smiled. ' _That's so cute….But what on earth am I going to do with Emerald?_ '

Kurenai put her hand on Hinata's shoulder and said, "It will work out; trust me." Hinata nodded and drew some comfort from her Mother figure.

Blake and Pyrrha where both thinking how adorable Naruto would be as a Father….They also wondered if little Emerald would turn out to be good or always be a thief….

Kakashi was thinking on a totally different wavelength. ' _So Naruto has finally manifested typhoon release. It seems that under the effects of extreme killing intent he can already do it subconsciously. I have to talk to Jiraiya-sama about this_.'

Raven was stealing glances at Naruto. ' _So that's Typhoon Release. Naruto-kun is even more powerful than I thought. His power reminds me of the Spring Maiden Vernal. I can only imagine how powerful he will become or how strong our children would be_.'

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

Two days later Emerald was walking along holding hands with Hinata and seemed happy as could be. She gasped when she saw how big Konoha was compared to the Artisan Village. "Is this my new home?!" she asked Hinata with big eyes.

Hinata said, "We have to talk to the Hokage first but yes, Konoha is your new home." The little girl cheered.

Kurenai chuckled but Hinata's first thought was, ' _First I have to teach her to_ _ **not**_ _steal_.'

….

 **Hokage Tower**

Teams 7 and 8 reported in to the Hokage who was less than thrilled about their whole adventure. Not getting the weapons was bad enough as Konoha needed them but the news of the Artisan Village trying to rip off Konoha was even worse. "The used the whole Anti-Grimm mission as a pretext to rob us." reported Kakashi. "The only real positive about this mess was there was no battle between us and Takumi Village. That would have snowballed quickly if fighting had occurred. Emerald Sustrai explained the entire situation to us once we caught up with her. I've included it in my report."

Hiruzen tapped his temple and said. "It seems you've brought back a talented genjutsu user as well." He turned to Emerald and said, "So young lady, do you wish to live here in Konoha with us? We can't have you stealing now."

Emerald nodded happily and said, "I want to live with Cin-I mean Hinata."

The Hokage looked at the mischief in the child's eyes and thought about a certain whiskered blonde. He looked at Hinata and said, "I'll talk to Hiashi. I believe she might make a good apprentice to Uzumaki Tayuya."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." said Hinata with a bow. "I believe we could easily make room for her in the branch house where Tayuya and the Malachite twins are staying."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Soon Hinata was over at Naruto's Apartment with Emerald. Naruto was fixing some tea for the three of them. "So Em-chan is staying in the same place as my cousin and the Malachite twins Hinata-chan?"

"That's what I'm hoping for." said Hinata as she accepted her tea. "It all depends on Father of course. It isn't like the Hokage can _order_ him to let Emerald live there."

"But I want to live at your house Hinata." said the mint haired girl.

"I know you do Emerald but we have to get my Father's permission." said Hinata. "He's the Hyūga Clan Head after all."

Emerald asked, "Is your Father like a Headmaster over an Academy then?"

"You are just full of questions Em-chan." said Naruto with a chuckle. "Hinata-chan's Clan is a huge family of cousins and stuff and Hiashi-sama is like the Dad in charge."

"Hmmmm….So Hinata's Dad is in charge of everything." said Emerald. "He must have lots of money."

Hinata got a flat look on her face and said, "I **_forbid_** you from stealing from my Father." ' _Although robbing the Elders might be good practice_.' thought Hinata with a mental round of evil laughter. ' _Oh, those old windbags will never know what hit them. Bwahahaha!_ '

….

 _Meanwhile, the Hyūga Elders each got a shiver down their spines_ ….

….

POSTSCRIPT:

This interlude chapter was a first for me. I've never written a scene solely about dogs before. So now we have a Chibi-Emerald running about the village. A lot of people requested her for one reason or other but I wanted to do something different with her. I'm currently working on a chapter each of **_Magik_** and **_Infinity Divide_** which I hope to get out by the end of the year. Since my vacation is now over I can't make any guarantees though. See you next time. Blue out. 12/10/17


	31. Chapter 31

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The marathon continues. This chapter was unplanned and kind of wrote itself. I'm happy to say that chibi Emerald was well received. She does have an eight year old mindset which will be explained down the line. This chapter rotates primarily around events in Konoha so with the exception of the opening not much world travel in this one. Here is chapter 31. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Last time:

 ** _Naruto's Apartment_**

 _Soon Hinata was over at Naruto's Apartment with Emerald. Naruto was fixing some tea for the three of them. "So Em-chan is staying in the same place as my cousin and the Malachite twins Hinata-chan?"_

 _"That's what I'm hoping for." said Hinata as she accepted her tea. "It all depends on Father of course. It isn't like the Hokage can_ _order_ _him to let Emerald live there."_

 _"But I want to live at your house Hinata." said the mint haired girl._

 _"I know you do Emerald but we have to get my Father's permission." said Hinata. "He's the Hyūga Clan Head after all."_

 _Emerald asked, "Is your Father like a Headmaster over an Academy then?"_

 _"You are just full of questions Em-chan." said Naruto with a chuckle. "Hinata-chan's Clan is a huge family of cousins and stuff and Hiashi-sama is like the Dad in charge."_

 _"Hmmmm….So Hinata's Dad is in charge of everything." said Emerald. "He must have lots of money."_

 _Hinata got a flat look on her face and said, "I_ _ **forbid**_ _you from stealing from my Father." '_ _Although robbing the Elders might be good practice_ _. ' thought Hinata with a mental round of evil laughter. '_ _Oh, those old windbags will never know what hit them. Bwahahaha!_ _'_

 _…._

 _Meanwhile, the Hyūga Elders each got a shiver down their spines…._

 _…._

Chapter 31

 **Iron Country, Three Wolves Mountain Keep**

It was cold as usual in the Mountain Keep but the Samurai of Iron Country were used to it. General Mifune was looking over the Hokage's letter regarding the Creatures of Grimm. He turned to his guest. The Old Samurai said to a tall, lanky young man, "We were fortunate to have met. I really hate to see you go again given how much you've taught us about fighting against the Creatures of Grimm. It seems ironic that we received that notice from Fire Country months after you helped prepare us."

"That's why I have to go to Fire Country and see for myself." said the young man. "They may have information that is vital about the Grimm….or perhaps about others from Remnant like me."

The elderly General sighed and said, "I just hope you survive. Your trip to Rain Country was a disaster and nearly got you killed. You even lost your special weapon you had crafted by us."

"Yeah, those Rain Country Ninjas were vicious and overwhelmed me." agreed the young man. Then he sighed, "Shame about Shear Trigger though….the blade you all made proved excellent but the grip was rushed and subpar. I should have been more patient like the smiths said before I set out. Anyway, my new blade is much better in every way. I can't thank you enough for it General."

Mifune brushed it off. "You are a huntsman and with what you've done for us providing a new weapon was the least I could do. Safe travels and know that Iron Country will always welcome you. Until we meet again."

The young man bowed. "Until we meet again General."

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Training Ground 52**

It had been three weeks since the failed Takumi Village mission and the genins and their senseis were working hard….

Jiraiya was standing under the tree at Training Ground 52 along with Kakashi as they observed Team 7 as they were getting ready to spar with Jiraiya's shadow clone. The Toad sannin said, "Now remember kids, this is a shadow clone so come at him with the intent to kill….anything goes so don't hold anything back…. _GO!_ "

Blake blurred into action first with her Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form and launched herself at Jiraiya's clone with a flying kick. She accelerated so fast the she actually kicked up some turf in the process. The clone blocked easily but the impact allowed her to go airborne using his crossed arms as a platform. Her Gambol Shroud streaked down in a deadly arc from directly above but the crafty sannin had already dived clear and foot swept Pyrrha sending the redhead flipping back end over end into the dirt past Naruto….

Naruto was ready with the Shear Trigger in its gun form and kept Jiraiya at bay while Pyrrha regained her bearings. He knew the sannin was way too fast to shoot with a bullet barrage but the covering fire kept the Toad Sage at bay temporarily. Blake attacked Jiraiya from behind only to have her arm caught by the Toad sage and be thrown directly at Naruto. The blonde sheathed Shear Trigger in an instant and caught Blake so she wouldn't impact hard on the ground. He then leapt out of the way of the charging shadow clone of Jiraiya with Blake still in his arms by using the toad style to launch himself clear in an explosion of chakra and dirt.

As Jiraiya's clone pivoted to go after the speeding Naruto he was crowned by Pyrrha's shield Akoúo̱ which ricocheted off his head and back to her. She then charged in with a brutal taijutsu combo that had Jiraiya's clone off balance for a split second. Before he could right himself and recover; Naruto launched Blake who slid into the dirt beneath the clone and kicked the sannin as hard as she could skywards. As the Toad sannin came down Naruto roared in with an oodama rasengan and sent the clone hurtling though the air. He crashed and dispelled after a massive impact with the ground….

When the dust and dirt settled the three genins had already stopped and remained in the guard position until Kakashi said, "The spar is over. Well done Team 7!"

The three dirty, sweat covered genins cheered at Kakashi and Jiraiya's applause and then noticed they'd really torn up their sparring grounds. "Wow! We were really burning some energy there." said Pyrrha. "What a mess."

"We're a mess." said Blake looking at their uniforms. "We all look like we've been rolling in the dirt."

Naruto grinned. "But we won girls! Of course, Ero-sennin was taking it easy on us…."

Pyrrha and Blake's eyes got big as saucers. " _That_ was taking it easy?!" they asked as one.

Jiraiya laughed and said, "I had to hold back a bit to gage you three. Naruto here can survive impacts that would kill most people. I didn't want to use that kind of power on you ladies until I saw how sturdy you two are. As it is I'd say both of you kunoichis are tough as nails." He unsealed some water bottles and said, "The three of you were going full steam there. Take a break and cool down a bit."

….

Once the three genins were rested a bit Jiraiya and Kakashi began working with them individually. Naruto was sitting with Jiraiya working on his Typhoon Release and the pair was going over the scrolls together about the kekkei genkai Naruto proved to have. Jiraiya said, "The real danger with your bloodline is quite simply, _mass destruction_. Once you unleash it you could level a huge amount of property on everyone around you so your teammates could be in danger as well."

"Really Jiraiya-sensei?" asked Naruto. "I assumed I had to work up the power, not tone it down."

Seeing the blonde looked alarmed and worried Jiraiya patted his apprentice's shoulder. "Not to worry, I'm going to be teaching you some advanced meditation techniques before we begin to practice using your actual bloodline. One of the major keys to controlling Typhoon Release is a calm mind." ' _He's too young for Sage Techniques. It's a shame because otherwise I'd ask Pa to help teach him_.' Jiraiya continued. "Meditation is simple in concept but difficult in execution. Let's start with something basic like clearing your mind of thoughts…. It will pay off no matter how boring meditation may seem at first."

….

Pyrrha was practicing her Magnet Release with the help of one of Jiraiya's shadow clones. "You have a really good grasp of using the Magnet Release with great subtlety like deflecting a kunai or shuriken off course but you exhaust yourself when you use it over wide areas." said the white haired sannin. "We're going to practice by you moving objects with metallic properties that are progressively larger to increase your endurance. We also are going to practice smaller things like folding small metal pieces into shapes to increase your acuity with your bloodline. Understand?"

The redhead nodded. "So in essence we're going to build up my 'muscle' and at the same time we will work on my 'small motor skills.' Correct?"

"Exactly!" exclaimed the Toad Sage. ' _Sharp girl_.' "When you combine the two concepts imagine the possibilities. You could have a large number of projectiles coming at you and rather than deflecting them and being exhausted you could grab them out of the air and launch them back at the source."

Pyrrha got a look of determination on her face and said, "Let's do this!"

….

Blake was sparring with Kakashi and building up her speed as well as incorporating different types of clones. "You tend to use shadow clones on instinct which is fine but the goal of this exercise is to switch the types of clones on the fly." said Kakashi. "We'll start with something simple where I call out the type of clone like 'ice' or 'mud' and you'll produce that type of clone. Once we are both satisfied with the results then we'll start incorporating them into actual sparring. Make sense?"

Blake nodded. "I understand Kakashi-sensei. What about my speed?"

"That's where these little babies come in." said Kakashi as he held up small weights with straps. He gave a double eye smile. "These are chakra weights. They increase in heaviness the more chakra you add to them. You can also deactivate them at will in an emergency situation. You will no longer be wearing the bulky conventional weights you and your teammates have worn up to this point."

"Shouldn't the others wear these too?" asked the feline faunus girl. "They seem to be a lot more flexible."

Kakashi nodded and said, "I intend to get them sets eventually as well but for right now we are concentrating on you. Like it or not, Naruto and Pyrrha will never match your raw speed."

The cat eared girl nodded with fire in her amber eyes. "When do we start?"

"That's the spirit!" said the silver haired sensei.

….

 **Training Ground 15**

Mitarashi Anko was putting her new snake sword to the test. The snake mistress stood with her pupil-less brown closed and her hand on the hilt. There were six training dummies in a circle surrounding her. Each had a target upon it which her three genins randomly arranged. She had a chalk circle on the ground she could not step out of. As the wind blew Anko calmed herself and listened for her three apprentices to give her the go. Ilia had a stopwatch in hand and called; "BEGIN!" and the snake mistress drew her blade in a split second and opened her eyes….

Anko's eyes were hard as steel as she extended her new snake sword and channeled yin chakra along it giving the illusion of multiple blades writhing a few inches apart. The first target was the neck of the dummy and she cut the head off her target as soon as the blade was extended to its full length. Anko partially retracted the blade and went after the second target. It had a lightning bolt over its heart and Anko fired a chakra charge off which electrified her sword. Extending it again the snake jonin impaled her target through the heart leaving a smoking hole where the target had been and causing the smell of ozone to fill the air.

A training dummy behind Anko was equipped with a shuriken launcher and when Anko heard the whizzing stars coming towards her she pivoted in a flash and rapidly spun her sword to deflect the shuriken with electric sparks showering in the air. The dummy had three targets on it and Anko didn't pause for a millisecond as she diced the target to pieces before it could fire more. The next target said ' _capture_ ' on its chest and Anko turned her snake sword and wrapped the flat end around the dummy which shocked it "unconscious." as it fell over. As Anko spun towards the last two targets her electrical charge ran out and she saw that her next victim had a flame symbol and was holding a shield in its right hand.

Anko changed the direction of her sword to arc up and around the shield so she could hit from the opposite side. As the snake mistress's blade turned back towards the target she set a fire based chakra charge down the whip like blade and cut the dummy in half as two flaming pieces of debris. The last dummy had a target on its face and stomach areas and Anko split it from head to groin faster than the eye could follow. Releasing the fire chakra charge Anko retracted the blade and sheathed it.

Ilia clicked the stopwatch and said, "Nineteen point four seconds sensei." with a smile on her face.

Miltia and Melanie cheered and said, "You did it Anko-sensei! Less than twenty seconds!"

Anko looked down and saw that she _finally_ stayed within the circle she was standing in. ' _I can do it against stationary targets. Now on onto moving ones_.' thought the snake jonin.

The snake mistress let out a breath as her genins checked the damage to the target dummies they'd set up. Anko saw Ilia checking the 'captured' dummy and the faunus girl said, "I think this person would be scarred for life but alive. The wig we had on it to represent hair is still smoking."

The Malachite twins immediately thought of the Hyūga Elders. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Anko smiled and asked, "What's so funny girls?"

Miltia explained, "Hinata-sama burned the hair off of the Hyūga Elders a few months back. The smoking hair made us think of that."

Ilia and Anko both looked dumbfounded and Melanie explained while laughing, "They've grown their hair out back to buzz cuts now. Pffft."

Ilia didn't know Hinata well but the Hyūga heiress always was kind to her and she couldn't imagine Hinata burning someone's hair off. "Why….would Hinata do that?" asked the confused chameleon faunus.

"Nobody knows exactly." said Miltia as she brought her chortles under control. "All the Hyūga Clan really knows is Hiashi-sama approved of her actions. Everyone thinks it's hysterical behind closed doors."

Anko laughed and said, "I never realized that someone as stuffy as the Hyūga Clan would have such antics; especially Hiashi-sama."

"It's a whole different world living inside the Hyūga Compound." said Melanie with a chuckle….

….

 **Hyūga Compound**

Hyūga Hiashi was sitting in his office thinking about his daughters. Hinata had brought home a little girl named Emerald three weeks ago and the mint haired girl held Hinata in the highest esteem possible. She considered Hinata her savior from living on the streets. Initially Hiashi wasn't too thrilled about the situation but Hinata tactfully reminded him that he brought Uzumaki Tayuya and Melanie and Miltia Malachite home from the war so he had no room to talk about bringing home 'strays.' The Clan Head reluctantly conceded the point.

Hiashi decided that Emerald could live in the Branch House the Tayuya lived in at the Hokage's suggestion and the redhead was impressed enough by the 'munchkin's' genjutsu skills that she agreed to help train the mint haired girl. The Clan Head was genuinely pleased with this. He was also pleased that Hanabi hit it off with Emerald. As it was Hanabi and Emerald had become friends in spite of the fact they were both vying to get Hinata's attention. Hiashi felt it was good for Hanabi to have a friend her own age as long as the pair stayed out of trouble….

….

 **Hanabi's Room**

Hyūga Hanabi welcomed Emerald Sustrai to her room under the supervision of her caretaker Natsu. Natsu smiled and said, "I'll leave you young ladies to play. Do call me if you need me Hanabi-sama."

"Thank you Natsu-san." said Hanabi courteously as Natsu closed the door behind her. Hanabi's Byakugan eyes narrowed and she looked around to make sure no one was watching. "Did you get it Emerald-chan?"

Emerald took off her backpack and set it down in the floor. The mint haired girl pulled a spiral notebook out and said "I got it Hanabi-chan!" with an evil chuckle. "Naruto nii-san will never know."

 _…._

 _Flashback…._

 _About a week ago Hinata and Emerald were visiting Naruto's apartment having some treats that Hinata brought over for her boyfriend to try. "These are great cookies Hinata-chan!" said Naruto enthusiastically. "Don't you think so Em-chan?"_

 _"Yep! All of Hinata's cooking is great!" said Emerald with obvious adoration in her voice. "Hinata is good at everything!"_

 _Naruto smiled at the little girl and thought about his own life as a street rat when he was younger. '_ _Hmmmm, I wonder…._ _' thought the orange loving blonde. He grabbed a spiral notebook off of his kitchen counter and said, "Here Hinata-chan; I'm writing my memoirs."_

 _The byakugan princess smiled and quirked an eyebrow as he handed her the notebook. On the cover it said,_ _ **Anarchy in Five Easy Steps: The Diary of a Prankster (Recommended for children and terrorists of all ages)**_ _. Hinata burst into laughter and asked, "What_ _ **is**_ _this Naruto-kun?"_

 _Naruto answered, "Jiraiya-sensei said that a good way to practice my calligraphy for fuinjutsu is to do a bit of creative writing. Besides, I need to record my nefarious deeds for future generations."_

 _Hinata started thumbing a few pages and exploded into giggles. "So that's how you pulled that off on Iruka-sensei! How old were we at the time?"_

 _The blonde looked at the passage and snorted. "We were nine. We had just started the Ninja Academy and I was bored so I decided to launch my_ _ **Career of Evil**_ _." said Naruto chuckling._

 _'Career of Evil?!_ _' thought Emerald with big eyes. '_ _What is_ _ **in**_ _that book?_ _'_

 _The orange loving ninja motioned with his eyes in Emerald's direction to Hinata. "Just think what kids could learn from my book here."_

 _Hinata covered her smile and said, "So where do you keep that book Naruto-kun?"_

 _"I keep it hidden inside the_ _ **lowest drawer here**_ _." said Naruto mischievously. "No one will find it there and I don't check on it often."_

 _Emerald subtlety looked over at the drawer Naruto was pointing at. '_ _It wouldn't hurt if I just borrowed it…._ _' thought the mint haired girl._

 _Flashback End…._

….

The two eight year old little girls opened the book and began reading in earnest….After a few minutes Emerald's big red eyes opened wide and she said, "This….this is brilliant! Naruto nii-san is a genius!"

"I never thought of such things!" said Hanabi with a look of awe on her cute face. "As insane as this sounds; all of this could work! Turn the page already; this is amazing!"

 _The dawn of a new age of pranking was about to begin…._

 _Heaven help us all…._

….

 **Konoha Front Gates**

Maito Gai and Team 9 came in escorting a pair of wagons from Takumi Village. The wagons were driven by some rather somber looking people from the Village of Artisans. Their Leader Hōki had royally screwed up three weeks ago with his little scheme to rip off Konoha Village and in order to smooth things over the Takumi Village Leader had to take a huge loss on the first shipment of weapons.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't a heartless man though. After Hōki came personally to Konoha and apologized profusely for his actions the aged Hokage agreed to give Takumi Village more business at the original agreed prices provided there were no more shenanigans. Frankly Konoha required the weapons as much as Takumi Village needed income. If Hōki hadn't gotten greedy the whole mess could have been avoided….

As it was Lee was eager to see his girlfriend, the _youthful spring flower_ Melanie Malachite. Neji couldn't believe that the green eyed, dark haired beauty had fallen for the likes of Lee but Tenten was very happy for them….As was Gai of course. Gai didn't even mind his apprentice growing his hair out again (it was just tied into a short tail for now) given it was Lee's _Passionate Flames of Youth_ to do so….

Neji said to Tenten, "This was a rather sedate trip. We didn't even run into any bandits along the way."

Tenten nodded. She said with stars in her eyes, "More importantly we have lots of high quality _blades_ that Dad and I can work with." The weapons loving girl was on cloud nine and couldn't wait to play with the sharp and pointy objects in the carts.

Gai interjected, "The fire in your eyes shows just how much your _Flames of youth_ have been stoked Tenten-chan. I for one cannot wait to see the fruits of you and your Father Tengoku's labors."

"Thank you Gai-sensei." said the bun haired girl. "I'm making a very special pair of nunchakus for Lee-kun to use. My friends Blake and Pyrrha from Team 7 suggested the design and I just can't wait to try it out."

Neji wanted to ask for a bow or something like Hinata-sama's but couldn't bring himself to do so. The idea of following his cousin's lead abhorred the Branch house prodigy. Much to his amazement; many members of the Hyūga Clan were adding bows and arrows to their arsenals after seeing Hinata-sama's amazing skill with the weapon. Neji wasn't sure what to feel. Regardless, Neji knew Tenten could teach him how to use virtually _any_ kind of weapon from a toothpick to a war hammer with deadly precision. Neji just couldn't figure out how to broach the subject….

….

As the group signed in with the chunins Izumo and Kotetsu at the gates they saw several members of the Weapons Guild coming out with carts to requisition their part of the load. ANBU Deer and ANBU Lynx also arrived there to keep things under control as the genins started offloading the weaponry. Tenten's Father Tengoku came up and hugged his daughter. The big bear of a man was as excited as his 'little girl' about all of the weaponry. "Any problems on the trip Tenten-chan?" he asked.

"Everything went smooth as glass." answered Tenten. "There were no problems at all."

Tengoku nodded and said, "I hope we get some good blades out of this lot. The quality looks superb at a glance."

Tenten waggled her eyebrows and said conspiratorially, "I might have _accidentally_ put some really good ones aside for our shop."

"That's my girl." replied Tengoku in the exact same tone as his daughter.

Gai smiled as he saw the two interact. ' _Like Father; like daughter_.' thought the Green Beast. "Come on Tenten-chan; there is still work to do!"

Tenten winked at her Father and turned to Gai. "Coming Gai-sensei!"

….

 **Hyūga Compound, Hanabi's Room**

Two little girls doing their best to keep from laughing uproariously at the passage about the Special jonin Ebisu being blown away by the Harem no jutsu. They also saw a passage in reference to Naruto's 'apprentice' Sarutobi Konohamaru and his friends Udon and Kazamatsuri Moegi which made both Hanabi and Emerald curious.

"Sarutobi Konohamaru is the Hokage's grandson." explained Hanabi. "I've seen him around the village but I've never talked to him."

"Maybe we should seek him out." said Emerald. "If he's Naruto nii-san's apprentice then he might know a few tricks himself."

Hanabi nodded. ' _Hinata nee-chan and I already pranked the Elders with those photos we gave to Father of them in their turbans_.' (giggle, giggle) ' _I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we pranked the Elders again_.'

Emerald smiled at her co-conspirator. "What's so funny Hanabi-chan?"

"I was just thinking of future targets." said Hanabi evilly. "I believe hiding Elder Majo's chartreuse wig from her might be rather fun. She was always been mean to Hinata nee-chan until recently. I believe a little payback is in order."

"Is she the Elder with the evil looking eye shadow that is always scowling?" asked Emerald.

"That's the one." said Hanabi with a nod. "Even Father called her an evil old witch when he didn't think I was listening."

Emerald smiled evilly and said, "We need to plan this carefully."

"Not to worry." said Hanabi. "Between your genjutsus and my byakugan we will be unbeatable. I wonder if Hinata nee-chan would help us."

"Hinata might find out we have Naruto nii-san's book though!" said Emerald with a worried expression on her cute face.

"Let's find Sarutobi Konohamaru tomorrow then." said Hanabi. "He may know secrets that we don't."

….

Natsu would have sworn that she heard two little girls cackling evilly (or was that cute giggling?) from down the hall….

….

Hinata knew about the book and could hear her little sister and Emerald's evil laughter down the hall from the opposite direction. She smiled and flames ignited in her byakugan eyes. ' _It seems Naruto-kun was right. I'll have to help inspire the two of them as well in my own way….After all, certain people within this very compound need to be dealt with in a way that only an expert can do it. I'll have to get Naruto-kun's advice of course._ '

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

The orange loving ninja got home feeling exhausted after the hard work out that Jiraiya-sensei and Kakashi-sensei had Team 7 do and immediately hopped in the shower. He thought to himself, ' _It's a shame Blake-chan and Pyrrha-chan were both so tired. They could have showered with me and stayed the night_ ….' Naruto heard someone knocking at the front door and sighed. ' _Who could that be?_ ' He made a shadow clone outside the shower and said, "Henge into some clothes and see who is at the door."

The clone opened the door and saw Hinata standing there with a big smile on her face. She hugged him and said, "Naruto-kun; I'm glad you're home!"

Naruto's shadow clone smiled back and said, "I'm glad you are here Hinata-chan but boss is in the shower."

The Hyūga Heiress thought to herself, '( _Sigh) A perfect opportunity to shower with Naruto-kun but I just don't have enough time….I can't go home with wet hair. It would be way too obvious. Not to mention I told Father I'd be back in time to have dinner with him and Hanabi-chan_.' "Please tell Naruto-kun I'm here. I'll ummm –sit on the couch."

The clone smiled as he closed the door behind her and said, "You're so adorable Hinata-chan." Then he dispelled.

Hinata blushed slightly and thought with a smile, ' _How does Naruto-kun always make me feel this way?_ '

….

Naruto came out of the shower wearing a black and orange yukata and said, "Hinata-chan, I wasn't expecting you but I'm happy you are here." She stood up and the two embraced before they kissed each other deeply. When the two separated for air they smiled at one another until Naruto asked, "What brings you by my byakugan hime? Did you want some dinner? I can whip up something simple for us."

Hinata said, "It's okay Naruto-kun, I have to eat dinner with my family tonight. Besides, you look tired." She kissed him again and cupped his cheek. "You must have worked hard today."

The blonde smiled softly and asked, "Is it that obvious?" Seeing her nod Naruto said, "I'm beginning to learn about Typhoon Release. It requires total focus because I could accidentally blow down a building or something."

Hinata's eyebrows raised. "Typhoon Release is that powerful?"

"I'm afraid so Hinata-chan. Meditation is the first step and it's a lot harder than I imagined. Anyway, enough about me. Did you need me? I can get dressed."

"It's okay Naruto-kun." she said. "I need your help with a little prank. Emerald and Hanabi-chan have your book like you planned and I wanted to give them a little _inspiration_." Her eyes ignited at the last part.

Naruto chuckled and said, "I'm always available to help with a _little prank_ my lady. Who do you need killed?"

Hinata giggled. "Not killed, just embarrassed to no end. I want to prank Elder Hiraku for general principles. He's been getting pompous again lately now that he has a bit of hair. I want Emerald and Hanabi-chan to see how it's done."

The orange loving ninja stroked his chin and asked, "He has access to your clan accounts doesn't he?"

She raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes, all of the Elders do in case of an emergency."

Naruto smiled and said, "Can you get his autograph so I can forge it?"

The Hyūga heiress asked, "What is Elder Hiraku going to buy? I can't afford to bankrupt the clan." Her eyes were a bit wide.

"So my idea of a troupe of male strippers or shirtless go-go boy dancers in his quarters is out?" asked Naruto.

Hinata covered her mouth with both hands before she burst into giggles. "Oh. My. God. It would scar the clan for generations! We can't go that far! Pffft!"

The blonde laughed and said, "Okay, let me get my Fire Country Mail Order Catalog. I have a special item in mind." Naruto sat down on his couch and started flipping through the pages with Hinata looking over his shoulder. Soon Naruto turned to the page he wanted and asked, "What do you think would happen if Elder Hiraku ordered a cartload of these?"

 _Hinata's evil laughter rang throughout the apartment complex_ ….

….

 **Sarutobi Compound**

The next day Hanabi and Emerald decided to find Konohamaru and went over to the Sarutobi Compound with two Hyūga guards watching over them from a distance. Hanabi squared her shoulders and knocked on the front door. It was Asuma that opened the door and saw the pair of eight year olds. He said with a grin, "Hello there little ladies, can I help you?"

Emerald was a little intimidated but Hanabi said properly, "Hello sir, I am Hyūga Hanabi and this is my friend Emerald Sustrai. We came over to see if Sarutobi Konohamaru is here. We wished to meet him because of a mutual friend."

Asuma's smile widened and thought, ' _So this is the younger Hyūga Heiress_.' He motioned in a small wave to the two Hyūga guards watching a ways off and they both nodded in respect of the jonin. "I'm Sarutobi Asuma; Konohamaru's Uncle. So who might this mutual friend of yours be?"

Hanabi said, "Our friend is Uzumaki Naruto. He is a genin on Team 7 under jonin Hatake Kakashi. Naruto-san said we should meet Konohamaru-san because he would be a good person for us to be friends with."

Emerald added, "Naruto nii-san was going to introduce us but he is unavailable today so we came over ourselves."

"So you know Naruto eh? He's becoming quite a ninja." said the chain smoking sensei. "He is friends with my genins on Team 10. '…. _And Ino is head over heels for him_ ….' "Anyway, Konohamaru and his friends are playing out back if you'd like to meet them. Come in and I'll take you back there to see them."

"Thank you Asuma-san." said both Hanabi and Emerald in unison as they bowed.

Asuma nodded and hand signed to the two guards, [I'm taking them out back if you wish to follow.]

One of the guards simply signed [Understood.]

' _I'll never understand the Hyūga Clan_.' thought Asuma ruefully. "Follow me ladies." he said to Hanabi and Emerald.

….

Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon exchanged formal greetings with Hanabi and Emerald and found out they all had a mutual friend/hero in Naruto. Soon the five were sitting at a picnic table where Emerald broke out the _cough*_ Necronomicon _*cough_ otherwise known as Naruto's Memoirs.

"Kore!" said Konohamaru. "This is Boss's Memoirs he told me about. Unbelievable! How did you get it?!"

Emerald said smugly, "I know where Naruto nii-san secretly hides this so I snuck it out while he wasn't looking. I can't keep it long because I have to put it back before he notices."

"With this I believe we could prank people who deserve it." said Hanabi.

Moegi held out her hand to shake with Emerald and Hanabi, "Friends?"

"Friends!" said Emerald eagerly. Hanabi eagerly echoed Emerald's sentiments and five little pranksters made a pact that day.

….

 _Somewhere Naruto felt a burst of pride knowing more acolytes had joined the ranks_ ….

….

 **Hyūga Compound**

On Monday the five little pranksters were sitting with Hinata having snacks outside at a picnic table in the compound courtyard listening to an angry conversation nearby….

A cart had arrived and soon the two Hyūga guards at the front of the compound were arguing with the driver of the cart.

"I know nothing of the Elder ordering such things!" said the straight laced guard.

The other guard said, "I had no idea that Elder Hiraku used these. Now I know why he wears a wide obi with his robes."

The driver face palmed and said, "Look; all I need is for Hyūga Hiraku-san to sign off on these and I'll offload them wherever he needs them."

"Can't one of us sign?" asked a third guard.

The driver said, "The invoice is to Hyūga Hiraku damn it! Just get the guy so I can unload these things! This is taking forever and I have other deliveries to make!"

Hiashi poked his head out the sliding doors to see what all of the ruckus was. He slipped on his sandals and marched over to the gates. " _What_ is going on here? The entire compound can hear you."

"This driver refuses to let anyone but Elder Hiraku sign for this delivery." said the straight laced guard.

"Hyūga Hiraku is the name on the invoice!" said the frustrated driver in a strangled tone. "He _has_ to sign for it!"

Hiashi looked curiously at the boxes on the cart and nodded. He said to the third guard. "Go to the dojo and fetch Elder Hiraku. Tell him Hiashi-sama _commands_ it."

Hiraku came storming out of the dojo a few minutes later and said, "What is this foolishness about a delivery for me?! I-" He saw Hiashi standing there with an invoice in his hand. The Clan Head had his byakugan eyes active and a ferocious look on his face.

 ** _"CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU ORDERED A SIX MONTH SUPPLY OF ADULT DIAPERS ON THE CLAN'S ACCOUNT HIRAKU?!"_** roared Hiashi.

Pandemonium ensued and it went downhill from there….

….

Five eight year olds with stars in their eyes thought, ' _Naruto nii-san is the true master_ ….'

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, it seems that Naruto has set a new precedent to inspire his little group of followers. How is Hiraku going to get out of this one? Will he ever live it down? Do any of you care? Putting that aside the genin teams and their senseis are training hard and learning new skills to add to their arsenals. We've also (partially) learned where Shear Trigger came from. What will become of that? For those interested the next chapter of **_Magik_** is 30% done. **_Infinity Divide_** is 10% done. See you next time. Blue out. 12/14/17


	32. Chapter 32

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

For those that have asked, yes there is a second reading story of **Tornado of Souls**. It is by **DanialArceus**. After some unusual circumstances I did give permission and if you are into reading stories then feel free to check it out. He's already got eight chapters as of this writing. Here is chapter 32. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Last time:

 _The driver said, "The invoice is to Hyūga Hiraku damn it! Just get the guy so I can unload these things! This is taking forever and I have other deliveries to make!"_

 _Hiashi poked his head out the sliding doors to see what all of the ruckus was. He slipped on his sandals and marched over to the gates. "_ _What_ _is going on here? The entire compound can hear you."_

 _"This driver refuses to let anyone but Elder Hiraku sign for this delivery." said the straight laced guard._

 _"Hyūga Hiraku is the name on the invoice!" said the frustrated driver in a strangled tone. "He_ _has_ _to sign for it!"_

 _Hiashi looked curiously at the boxes on the cart and nodded. He said to the third guard. "Go to the dojo and fetch Elder Hiraku. Tell him Hiashi-sama_ _commands_ _it."_

 _Hiraku came storming out of the dojo a few minutes later and said, "What is this foolishness about a delivery for me?! I-" He saw Hiashi standing there with an invoice in his hand. The Clan Head had his byakugan eyes active and a ferocious look on his face._

 ** _"_** ** _CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU ORDERED A SIX MONTH SUPPLY OF ADULT DIAPERS ON THE CLAN'S ACCOUNT HIRAKU?!_** ** _"_** _roared Hiashi._

 _Pandemonium ensued and it went downhill from there…._

 _…._

 _Five eight year olds with stars in their eyes thought, '_ _Naruto nii-san is the true master…._ _'_

 _…._

Chapter 32

 **Remnant, Salem's residence**

Arthur Watts was back at Salem's Residence while Salem's other forces were attacking Haven Academy. He found himself utterly fascinated with the concept of transmigration of souls and asked his Lady about it.

Salem pondered a moment and said, "Arthur; the transmigration of souls from our world to another almost always have something to do with the silver eyes like Ruby Rose possesses. If a person dies in the vicinity of where those eyes are or have been active then there is a slim chance that when their body turns to dust that the living spirit that they possess goes somewhere else….There is no controlling where they go and my centuries of study on the matter have revealed that the soul in question actually merges with a soul in that dimension. The results of that are like a roll of the dice."

"But if we could create a portal to another world…." said Arthur.

"Neither magic nor technology has advanced enough to make that possible Arthur." said Salem. "If you want to work upon it in your spare time then be my guest. Just remember your duties to me always take precedence."

"Of course my Lady." said Arthur in deference. "My question how we can get the Fall Maiden back."

"I wish I had an answer." said Salem. "The place Cinder Fall is in is called the Elemental Nations. She seems to be mentally intact so whatever soul Cinder's personality merged with must have been destroyed in the merger. She remembered me and that is proof enough. The vexing problem is the fact she is the Fall Maiden and we _need_ her to retrieve the relic from Beacon Academy. If you could get her back then I assure you will be richly rewarded."

Watts rubbed his chin in thought and said, "You already mentioned having other agents in this Elemental Nations place. Is it possible that they could help us?"

"Perhaps…." said Salem. "Their reports have been useful to me over the centuries. They have shown that the souls that transmigrate tend to appear in one area and congregate in the past. I will put you in touch with one of them…."

….

 **Snow Country, Elemental Nations**

Team 10 under Sarutobi Asuma was on a long range mission in the Land of Snow to restore Princess Kazahana Koyuki to her rightful throne. It had been extremely bloody. They'd faced off with several Snow Ninjas sent by Koyuki's corrupt Uncle Kazahana Dotō while sailing near an iceberg. The Snow Ninjas had chakra armor which gave them a distinct advantage in the situation and the fighting was brutal. Once the first battle was over both sides had casualties. Asuma sighed as he looked at Ino who was slipping away. She'd been run through with flying ice needles by the Snow Ninja Kakuyoku Fubuki who in turn was killed by Asuma himself. Fubuki's chakra armor was sliced open by the bearded Sarutobi jonin's trench knives. Fubuki died of massive blood loss shortly thereafter….

Things got worse once they made it to Snow Country proper. While Ino was being tended to by a local healer; the Snow Country Samurai supporting Koyuki all died in what could only be considered a one sided slaughter. A train car full of kunai launchers annihilated the samurai. Asuma himself was badly injured by kunai hits when he pushed Shikamaru and Choji clear of the deadly flying blades. In the end Koyuki fled in fear from the Konoha Ninjas only to be captured by her Uncle. Once her necklace which was the key to the Land of Snow's treasure was in Dotō's corrupt hands he had Koyuki tortured and killed.

Now that Dotō had the key to the treasure he wasn't expecting to be ambushed by Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji who were filled with vengeance for Ino and Asuma. The two genins attack was anticlimactic as Shikamuru and Choji were swatted aside like flies by the Snow Country's leader. They quickly retreated. What Dotō didn't realize is it was a carefully set up trap by the Nara heir. When Dotō went to insert the key to the treasure he set off a demolition level tag the two teens set up as a trap for him advance. Despite the fact Dotō had on heavy chakra armor his face was exposed and the massive explosion literally blew his brains out of the back of his head….

Three days later Team 10 was on a fishing ship out of Snow Country. They'd had to sneak out under the guise of refugees due to the chaos going on in the country. Snow Country was leaderless as the Kazahana line was dead and all there was left of the "treasure" was a crater. Politically speaking Show Country was bordering on anarchy. Asuma considered the mission a disaster….

It was two agonizingly long days to sail back to Fire Country where Team 10 could get to the Ninja Station in Port City. The doctor there took one look at Ino and said, "This doesn't look good. I need to operate immediately." The doctors there weren't as good as the ones in Konoha but it was the best shot Team 10 had at saving Ino's life….

….

Asuma was patched up and though he was injured his life was in no danger. He used the aviary to send a message to Konoha about the disastrous mission. Choji and Shikamaru kept vigil at the small hospital where Ino's life was on the line. They were soon joined by Asuma once he got back to the aviary. When the Doctor came out he said to Asuma, "I've done all I can for the girl. I'd give her a fifty/fifty chance. I'm sorry I can't do more."

The Sarutobi jonin hung his head and said, "Thank you for your hard work Doctor. Can we visit her?"

"She's heavily sedated but there is no reason why the three of you can't visit her." said the Doctor.

….

 **Fire Country, Tanzaku Gai**

The lanky huntsman from Iron Country strolled into town. He looked around and saw Tanzaku Castle along with many bars, casinos and brothels. "Seems like as good a place as any to rest." he said tiredly. "I've been on the road for over a week." He looked at a hotel and soon checked in for the night. Little did he realize in the morning that he was in for the shock of his life….

….

Team 8 entered Tanzaku Gai the next morning after a Grimm hunting mission and was quite happy that it was over. Kiba said, "We had to chase that bunch of Ursas halfway across Fire Country before we got them. I can't believe it. Eight days on the road. I'm worn out."

Hinata chuckled. "Look at the bright side Kiba-kun. Once we caught them they were dead in no time."

Raven sighed and said, "We could have killed them all on the first day if the damn things had fought us instead of running." ' _I need a drink_ ….'

"The mission was a success so the details don't matter." said Kurenai. "We packed for two weeks anyway."

They were walking by a bar and saw a black haired twenty something man being thrown out….right in front of them. He landed face down and groaned. He muttered, "Damn booze is expensive in this down."

Kurenai stared for a second and shook her head. Turning to her team she said, "Remember that drinking is best done in moderation."

The man rolled over and said, "No need to lecture me sweetheart. I just ran out of money."

He looked at the beautiful Kurenai and her Team before his heart nearly jumped out of his throat. His red eyes were big as saucers when he asked, "RAVEN?!"

Raven's eyes were also huge and she said, "QROW?!"

….

"Bwahahaha!" bellowed Qrow as he sat in a restaurant with Team 8. "Who's the older twin _now_ Raven? I'm twenty two and you're thirteen or fourteen! Bwahahaha!"

Kiba looked confused. "You guys are twins?"

"Yes." said Raven sullenly. "I'm older by ten minutes."

Kurenai sighed and asked "So how long have you lived in the Elemental Nations Qrow-san?"

Qrow leaned back in his seat and said, "I lived in Iron Country with the Samurai for about six months teaching them to fight Creatures of Grimm. When I saw the warning from Fire Country about Grimm I figured that I should go to Konoha and investigate. The last person I expected to run into was Raven- _chan_. Pffft!"

Raven kicked her brother in the shin under the table and said, "Laugh it up jerk!"

' _So this is Qrow Branwen; one of Ozpin's lieutenants_.' thought Hinata. ' _I wonder how he ended up dead as he is a very powerful fighter_.'

Raven looked at Qrow's weapon and said, "That looks just like your old scythe."

Qrow grinned and said, "The smiths in Iron Country do fantastic work don't you think?"

"Does it have a gun form as well?" asked Raven.

"Yes, but bullets are hard to come by." said Qrow. "The smiths in Iron Country think they are kind of worthless so I had to get a subpar smith to make the bullets."

The byakugan princess said, "That sounds just like Naruto-kun's _Sheer Trigger_ before he got it rebuilt."

Qrow's eyes widened slightly. "So my gunblade ended up in Konoha."

Hinata looked surprised but said, "So it was yours. You wouldn't recognize it now. It's a completely new weapon except for the blade and the firing mechanism. Naruto-kun has some excellent bullets being made for it."

"Really…?" asked Qrow. "Now that's interesting. My scythe has the same caliber of rounds as the _Sheer Trigger_. Hmmm…."

Kurenai asked, "Are you intending to go to Konoha then Qrow-san? We are heading back there once we have rested."

Qrow smirked. "Well, I can't just up and leave my _baby sister_ alone. I'll tag along."

Raven just growled as Qrow chuckled….

….

 **Remnant, Haven Academy**

The Headmaster of Haven Academy Leonardo Lionheart had betrayed Ozpin because he feared Salem. He reluctantly joined forces against the remains of Team JNPR and Team RWBY. On his side were the Spring Maiden Vernal, Mercury Black, Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainheart. "This was all just a trap?" asked Weiss as she glared at Lionheart.

"It appears so." said Ren calmly.

Lionheart cringed in guilt but said nothing.

At an ungiven signal both sides exploded into action. Mercury leapt forward and taunted Yang about the fight they had at the Vytal Festival and the blonde bombshell roared in to attack….

….

Ruby and Jaune were fighting the still injured Tyrain.

...

Nora and Ren engaged Hazel. Hazel looked at the two teens and said, "I don't wish to fight either of you." in his deep, baritone voice.

Ren said, "Nor I you"

"But we will if you're with her." said Nora with anger in her eyes.

"Very well then." said Hazel as he cracked his knuckles….

….

Vernal and Weiss already had a rivalry going and immediately went after each other. "Let's see what the Schnee name means." said Vernal arrogantly.

"I'm more than a name." said Weiss angrily.

Vernal growled, "Hmmm….prove it"

The two quickly engaged each other in mortal combat. Weiss was pulling out all the stops but found that Vernal was more powerful than she realized. The white haired girl went to summon her Arma Gigas but Vernal destroyed it before it fully formed. Vernal said, "Don't think I'm going to let you take the easy way out." As they ricocheted around Vernal caught Weiss's sword and electrocuted to former heiress. When the white haired girl stood up she felt something strange.

Weiss stared in disbelief as she looked down at the hole in her abdomen as Vernal's deer horn knife impaled her from behind. As the white haired girl fell she saw her opponent Vernal standing over her with her usual superior smirk. As the light faded from her eyes the former Schnee heiress' last thoughts were, ' _Stabbed in the back by a bandit._ _What a pathetic way to die_.…'

Ruby screamed, " ** _NOOOOO!_** " as white light from her eyes filled the room….

….

 **Fire Country, Konoha**

Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha were walking out of Ichiraku's Ramen when they saw Neji headed their way with a furious look on his face. Tenten and Lee were trailing behind their teammate looking concerned. Neji marched up to Naruto angrily and said, "I owe you a beating for that sucker punch Uzumaki. I challenge you to a duel to knockout."

The orange loving blonde glared at Neji for a moment and then he said, "Fine; I'm game. Your reckoning has been a long time coming. We'll wait until Hinata-chan comes back to the village so she can watch as I stomp a mudhole in your ass and walk it dry."

"I'm challenging you _now_." growled Neji.

"Only in an officiated match." said Naruto. "I think Gai-sensei would be a good proctor since he always fights fair."

Lee said, "Naruto-san is right Neji. Let's get Gai-sensei so you can have a proper, _Youthful_ match."

Tenten said, "A sanctioned match would be better Neji. A street fight could get you both brought up on charges."

Pyrrha frowned and said, "You should both let this go. We are all comrades."

Naruto wanted to growl about the oath he'd sworn on Hinata's blood back in the Chunin Exams. But then he remembered Hinata said it was okay and that she was fine now. He took a deep breath to calm himself and said. "I'll let this go if Neji will."

The redhead smiled softly and put her hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"You're just a coward Uzumaki." said Neji.

Naruto tensed and growled, "Hiashi-sama can be the proctor then. We'll fight in the Hyūga Compound right in front of your whole family." He blasted Neji with enough focused killing intent to make the Hyūga shiver. The branch house prodigy looked shocked and Naruto added salt to the wound by saying, "Or did your sporting blood turn to pigeon potty?"

Neji had steam coming out of his ears by this point and started trying to push back Naruto's overwhelming killing intent with his own.

Luckily for all concerned, Maito Gai came around the corner sensing the masses of killing intent coming off both genins. He quickly slipped in between Naruto and Neji and said, "What is the trouble **genins**?" Gai was addressing them as their superior officer rather than their sensei.

Naruto let off his killing intent and said, "Neji wants a fight and I refused unless it was an officiated match."

"Is this true Neji?" asked Gai.

Neji tensed slightly but said, "Uzumaki and I have unfinished business from the Chunin Exams."

Gai sighed slightly. ' _I'd hoped Neji-kun and Naruto-kun would have let this go by now but it seems that their fires of anger still burn hot. I suppose it can't be helped. It's a symptom of their youth to hold such grudges_. The Green Beast said, "We will settle this once and for all. I want my Eternal Rival Kakashi to be present as well."

Tenten said, "Gai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei was supposed to pick up a special order from Dad at the Heaven's Blade today. He might be there."

"Then let's head there Tenten-chan!" said Gai in his usual boisterous tone….

….

 **Inside the Heaven's Blade Weapon Shop**

Tenten's Father Tengoku handed over a very special weapon to Kakashi and said, "Here you go Kakashi. It's just as you ordered it."

Kakashi opened the case and pulled out a cylinder with a handle. He clicked the handle and saw a long black shaft slide out.

" _OH MY GOD! ONCE AGAIN I HAVE MY VERY OWN PIMPIN' CANE!_ " cried Kakashi through tears of joy….

….

 **Outside the Heaven's Blade Weapon Shop**

"Maybe we should call this off and do it some other day…." said Naruto hearing his sensei's orgasmic cry of joy about his pimpin' cane.

Blake and Pyrrha were sporting massive sweat drops and the genins of Team 9 looked distinctively uncomfortable.

Gai said, "So my Eternal Rival has his pimpin' cane at last! Let us go in and congratulate him!"

The six genins all stared at Gai and Lee said, "Forgive me Gai-sensei, but why is Kakashi-sensei's cane so….ummm….pimpin'?"

"I have no idea!" said Gai joyously.

"Well….I think we genins should leave you to bond with Kakashi-sensei for now." said Blake in a disturbed tone of voice.

"Yes, this match can wait!" added Pyrrha.

The six genins all nodded in unison with each other and quickly split….

….

 **Fire Country, Port City Ninja Hospital**

Team 10 was keeping a silent vigil over Ino. With Asuma's injuries he needed all the sleep he could get. The exhausted Choji and Shikamaru were taking shifts watching over Ino when they received a pair of visitors in the middle of the night. It was Yamanaka Inoichi and Shizune. The minute the Hokage got the news of Ino's condition he got the best medic he could spare and sent Inoichi along because the Yamanaka patriarch would have gone rogue to save his daughter anyway.

As things stood Ino was barely holding on when the two arrived and Shizune immediately went to work on the younger kunoichi. Shizune took a chakra pill and went to work straight away. Inoichi was in there with her to provide any support he could. The medical doctor that had done all that was possible with stitches and sutures but Shizune could do so much more with healing chakra. Hours later Asuma, Choji and Shikamaru saw Shizune come out of the small operating room covered in blood. She sat down exhausted and said, "It's in the hands of the kamis now. The doctor missed so much damage that….that all I could do was get rid of the holes that perforated her organs like a sieve. I tried to get rid of the blood clots but they are as much a danger to her as the injuries themselves. I've….I have to lie down." The dark haired medic fell asleep in an instant.

Inoichi came out of the operating room and said in a hollow tone, "Let her sleep. Shizune already overdosed on chakra pills to save Ino. I want you all to come inside and see Ino-chan. She'd want her friends close when she passes."

The genins went in and saw Ino laying there asleep. The Akimichi heir help Ino's smaller hand in his and it felt cold as death. Choji burst into silent tears. Shikamaru tried to remain stoic but soon was crying alongside Choji as he sat beside his big boned friend also holding her same hand. Inoichi sat on Ino's other side with a cloth dabbing the sweat from Ino's forehead. Asuma sat stoically and said, "If only I'd been a second faster…." in grief. He'd lost comrades before but somehow losing a genin under his protection was infinitely worse.

The vigil continued….

….

 **Fire Country, Tanzaku Gai**

The next morning Team 8 and Qrow set out for Konoha the next morning at dawn in good spirits. The Branwen twins actually were happy to see each other even if they didn't show it much. The pair was in a bizarre situation with their age difference (that and dying etc.) The twins were walking a few paces behind the others talking.

"So what about your semblance of misfortune?" Raven asked quietly.

Qrow shrugged, "For some reason it's gone. Not that I'm complaining. I think it vanished when the other guy's spirit left."

Raven quirked a dark eyebrow, "What do you mean he _left?_ "

"The guy that I merged with was a dishonored samurai named Kento that committed seppuku after he broke the code of Bushido." said Qrow. "He gave me his knowledge and said he was going to the pure land now that he atoned. He seemed totally at peace about the whole thing."

"Wish I'd had it that easy." said Raven under her breath. Qrow raised an eyebrow and she said, "I'll explain it all in private….Are you planning to stay in Konoha brother? If you aren't plagued with bad luck then…."

"You know; I'm either crazy or you seem _nicer_ Raven." said Qrow obnoxiously.

Raven elbowed him but said, "A lot has changed me; I can't help it. I….I'll explain things later. Suffice it to say the girl I merged with was criminally insane and had two personalities."

Qrow pulled out his flask and took a sip before handing it to Raven who took a drink herself. She handed her brother's flask back to him and said, "Thanks; in short things were really rough."

"So what is Konoha like?" asked Qrow.

Raven smiled softly and said, "It's a safe place. It's like one big tribe. I like it there."

"Hmmm…." pondered Qrow. "That does sound nice."

….

 **Fire Country, Port City Ninja Hospital**

Inoichi was still awake when the sun rose. The two boys were asleep in their chairs beside Ino's bed and Asuma was asleep in the guard position. The only reason Inoichi left his little girl's side was to take care of the call of nature or to get more coffee. He felt Ino's life was still there and suddenly her forehead heated up so hot that the Yamanaka patriarch had to pull his hand away with a gasp. The others woke up at his sudden movement. Shizune came in looking completely exhausted and said, "Let me see."

The dark haired medic used a simple diagnostic jutsu as Ino's temperature skyrocketed and her vital signs went through the roof. Shizune's baggy eyes were wide open and she said to Inoichi, "If you love your daughter then keep a hold of her psychically while I hold onto her physically. I think we're witnessing a transmigration!"

Inoichi immediately placed his hands on his only child's temples to monitor her mental state as the bleary eyed Shizune worked to stabilize the blonde kunoichi's vitals. Inoichi said, "Come on baby girl! You can get through this!"

….

 **Ino's Mindscape….**

 ** _"_** _What the hell is going on?" asked Ino. She looked down and saw her many wounds dripping blood. "That pink haired kunoichi got me good. Obviously I'm in my mind….I can hear Daddy calling to me….So who the hell are you sister?"_

 _Weiss Schnee saw a blonde girl that was a bit younger than her in an aggressive stance. The girl was obviously wounded and had three kunai in each hand. Weiss had her rapier Myrtenaster in hand and was looking at her own blood pouring out of the grievous wounds inflicted upon her by Vernal. Weiss gasped when realization hit her "I….I died? Who are you girl?"_

 _Ino's pupil-less blue eyes seemed to spark with chakra. "I'm Yamanaka Ino and you've invaded my psyche. I'll destroy you!"_

 _"Wait!" said Weiss, "I think we're both dead! I'm not supposed to be here. I'm Weiss Schnee."_

 _"_ _ **You aren't dead! Not yet!**_ _" thundered a voice from nowhere._

 _"Who's there?" asked Weiss as she took a defensive stance against Ino._

 _Ino said, "That's my Daddy! Now I'm going to kick your ass out of my psyche!"_

 _"_ _ **Princess, don't attack that girl! You are dying and if the two of you join forces then you'll both live as one**_ _." said Inoichi's voice. "_ _ **At least I hope so**_ _…."_

 _Weiss and Ino said as one, "YOU HOPE SO?!"_

 _Inoichi sighed and said, "_ _ **Shut up and listen to me! Recently several souls have migrated from a place called Remnant when they died. Their souls have merged with people of the Elemental Nations who are also dying. We don't know how or why it is happening but the souls involved can save each other or destroy each other. You are both victims of a situation beyond our control. I c….t ke..p this con….tion any long..r. I..'s up to y..u!**_ _"_

 _Weiss said, "At least your Father loves you…."_

 _The blonde kunoichi said, "I understand psychic bonds but this is ridiculous. Look, I don't want to give up my individuality to you."_

 _Weiss stared at the younger girl and said, "The feeling is mutual."_

 _Ino knew a lot more about the mind than Weiss and she said, "Daddy acted like we merge or destroy each other. I can't kill an innocent person for something beyond her control but likewise I'm not going to die for your sake."_

 _The former Schnee heiress said, "What do you suggest we do then? We are dying here!"_

 _Ino's eyes narrowed and said. "Tag Team! We share and we live."_

 _Both girls suddenly fell to their knees growing weaker. The white haired huntress struggled within arm's reach of Ino and said, "I'll probably regret this….Tag Team then!"_

 _The two girls slapped palms and everything went white…._

….

 **Ninja Hospital**

Team 10, Inoichi and Shizune all watched dumbfounded as Ino's body healed at a rapid pace and slowly morphed into a younger looking Weiss Schnee over a period of hours. Shizune was documenting everything as it progressed and feared that Ino's soul had died. She seemed to retain a lot of Ino's facial features and her pupil-less blue eyes but gained Weiss's more voluptuous (but still very slender) figure. The girl also had Weiss's white hair.

The white haired girl opened her pupil-less light blue eyes and saw Inoichi's looking at her with concern. She said, "Hello Daddy; I've missed you."

"Ino-chan?" asked Inoichi hopefully.

"It's both of us Daddy. "Weiss and I are a team now." she blinked and said in a different accent, "Hello Inoichi-san; I hope we can be friends. I'm Weiss Schnee."

She blinked again and said excitedly, "Let's take a look at me!" in Ino's voice. She sat up rapidly and looked down at her bosom as the sheets fell down and bellowed victoriously, "YES; my knockers are bigger just as we hoped!"

That was when she noticed Choji and Shikamaru were in the room _staring_. Choji had a huge blush and Shikamaru averted his eyes while covering his line of vision with his hand.

" ** _EEEEEK! GET OUT YOU PERVERTS!_** " shrieked Ino and Weiss as one.

"Troublesome." muttered Shikamaru as he grabbed the mortified Choji and left.

Asuma left chuckling and said, "Let's leave her in Shizune's capable hands."

"Princess, please cover yourself." said Inoichi in a tired voice.

….

POSTSCRIPT:

So we kick off the New Year with **_Tornado of Souls_**. The Snow Country Mission was one of those things I always wondered about if the variables were changed. Without Naruto I was under the impression that Koyuki would never have changed her rotten attitude. So, I decided to give it to Team 10 rather than Team 7. The disaster that resulted is something that may have repercussions later. I'm not sure if I want to write about a war in Snow Country though. It might be interesting but I've already written about the war in Rice Country.

I hope you all liked the idea of adding Weiss Schnee to the lineup. A lot of people have requested her in particular for one reason or other so I decided to adapt the current storyline in RWBY to fit the puzzle pieces together. See you next time. Blue out. 1/1/18


	33. Chapter 33

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay, I've had a lot said to me about there being a Jaune/Naruto fusion (both for and against). _It's **not** going to happen_. Naruto won't be fused with anybody because he holds Kurama. (Not to mention bits of Minato and Kushina's souls). I figure any soul trying to enter **any** jinchuriki would be blocked the seal holding the tailed beast. There is also the not so small issue of getting eaten for breakfast by the tailed beasts themselves. That's something I had set in stone from the first chapter. Here is chapter 33. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Last time:

 ** _Ninja Hospital_**

 _Team 10, Inoichi and Shizune all watched dumbfounded as Ino's body healed at a rapid pace and slowly morphed into a younger looking Weiss Schnee over a period of hours. Shizune was documenting everything as it progressed and feared that Ino's soul had died. She seemed to retain a lot of Ino's facial features and her pupil-less blue eyes but gained Weiss's more voluptuous (but still very slender) figure. The girl also had Weiss's white hair._

 _The white haired girl opened her pupil-less light blue eyes and saw Inoichi's looking at her with concern. She said, "Hello Daddy; I've missed you."_

 _"Ino-chan?" asked Inoichi hopefully._

 _"It's both of us Daddy. "Weiss and I are a team now." she blinked and said in a different accent, "Hello Inoichi-san; I hope we can be friends. I'm Weiss Schnee."_

 _She blinked again and said excitedly, "Let's take a look at me!" in Ino's voice. She sat up rapidly and looked down at her bosom as the sheets fell down and bellowed victoriously, "YES; my knockers are bigger just as we hoped!"_

 _That was when she noticed Choji and Shikamaru were in the room staring. Choji had a huge blush and Shikamaru averted his eyes while covering his line of vision with his hand. _

_" **EEEEEK! GET OUT YOU PERVERTS!** " shrieked Ino and Weiss as one._

 _"Troublesome." muttered Shikamaru as he grabbed the mortified Choji and left._

 _Asuma left chuckling and said, "Let's leave her in Shizune's capable hands."_

 _"Princess, please cover yourself." said Inoichi in a tired voice._

 _…._

Chapter 33

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Naruto's Apartment**

It was mid morning and Naruto woke up with Blake in his arms. She'd spent the night and when the two woke up early that morning they'd been very aroused. Now Blake was awake and her sleepy amber eyes and bed head hair made her look all the better to the blonde. She smiled and slid her body up on his before she kissed him heatedly. Naruto reciprocated and smiled back at his cat eared hime when they separated. She stretched like a cat and said, "Mmmm, wake up sex is awesome Naruto-kun. I love you."

Naruto gave her toothy smile and said, "I love you too Blake-chan." He stretched as well underneath her and looked over his shoulder at the clock. "Crud. It's already ten o'clock. We'd best get up and meet Pyrrha-chan at the flower shop for lunch at noon like we planned."

Blake's ears perked up and she practically purred, "That gives us a little over ninety minutes to shower together…."

….

 **Port City, Ninja Hospital waiting room**

Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji were sitting with Yamanaka Inoichi out in the secured waiting room where Inoichi was explaining just **exactly** what happened with Ino. As Ino's Father was like an Uncle to the two boys they were listening very carefully. Transmigration of souls wasn't the easiest thing to explain; especially given it was usually taken in a religious context instead of it happening to one of your best friends. Both boys felt awful for Ino but she seemed quite pleased (at least with her bust size) and wasn't complaining at all.

"So essentially Ino has a new roommate inside her head from a place called Remnant and physically changed as a result." said Shikamaru. "This is **_way_ ** beyond troublesome."

Choji bit down on a potato chip. "What are we going to tell everyone else? We can't just say, _Ino took off and this girl is her replacement_."

Inoichi sighed. "Certain people will know the truth but for now it's classified. Hokage-sama will have the final say but for now we'll have to think of an excuse."

"You mean like a henge jutsu gone wrong?" asked the Nara heir.

Inoichi said, "That's as good an excuse as any for now. We'll probably go straight to the Hokage when we get back to Konoha regardless."

Choji's eyes suddenly widened. "How is Auntie Ayano going to react?! We may all die at her hands!"

"Don't worry about that Choji." said Shikamaru lazily. "We'll blame it all on Asuma-sensei." The two boys high fived and Inoichi sweat dropped.

Asuma said from behind his two genins, "You two boys _do_ realize I'm standing right here don't you?"

Choji and Shikamaru looked back over their shoulders at their sensei sweating as the big, bearded jonin smiled down at them.

"Gee sensei, we thought you were out on a smoke break." said Shikamaru nervously.

"We were just joking sensei!" said Choji in a panicked tone.

Asuma leaned down and put his arms around Choji and Shikamaru's shoulders and said, "Oh, I know you were only joking. After all, if I'm going to hell at Ayano's hands I'll take my team with me." The boys looked like they were going to faint. Asuma stood back up and said solemnly to Inoichi, "On a more serious note, how are you holding up Inoichi?"

The Yamanaka patriarch said, "Believe it or not I'm just relieved my little Princess is alive. Even if she looks a little different it's so much better than losing her. She's still my daughter. With all these cases of transmigration lately among the genins, I-"

Shikamaru's dark eyes narrowed, "What do you mean _all these cases of_ _transmigration lately among the genins?!_ You're saying there are others Uncle Inoichi?"

Inoichi was sweating a river and Asuma face palmed. Finally the Sarutobi jonin said, "They'll find out eventually anyway Inoichi."

Seeing he wasn't going to get out of this Inoichi said, "This is even more classified than the transmigration itself. Several of your new friends and comrades are from Remnant originally."

The Nara heir was in his 'thinking pose.' "Pyrrha Nikos. Blake Belladonna. Raven Branwen. Possibly Hyūga Hinata and now Ino. Did I miss anybody?"

The Yamanaka patriarch stared dumbfounded for a moment and then hung his head. He said with a groan, "….That's just about everybody. You are truly Shikaku's son…."

….

 **Konoha, Yamanaka Flower Shop**

Naruto and Blake made it to the flower shop at noon and saw it was open even though it was lunch time. When they came in the pair saw a tired looking Ayano at the counter who greeted them as usual with, "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, I'm Yamanaka Ayano; how may I help yo- Oh, Naruto-kun and Blake-chan; welcome."

Blake gave one of her minimal smiles and said, "Hello Ayano-san. Is everything okay?"

Pyrrha came out of the back and said, "Hello again!" she looked tired as well.

Naruto said worriedly, "You both look exhausted; what happened?"

Ayano smiled weakly and said, "I'm afraid Ino-chan was injured on her last mission. Inoichi-kun and Katō Shizune went out last night to help. It's hard not to worry."

The blonde thought to himself, ' _If they needed Shizune it must have been bad_.' He said in a positive tone, "If Shizune is on the job then I'm sure Ino will be fine." ' _I hope_.'

Blake asked, "Do you want us to get you two some takeout for lunch? I'm sure you both could use a break."

"That would be nice." said Pyrrha. "What do you think Ayano?"

Ayano smiled and said, "That's very kind of you; let me get you kids some money."

Naruto waved his hands and said, "I've got it covered. Just tell us what you both want and Blake-chan and I will go and get it."

….

 **Port City, Ninja Hospital waiting room**

Shizune said to Weiss, "You look just fine in this blue kimono; it brings out your eyes. With your new measurements your old clothes didn't fit so this will have to do Ino-er-Weiss.

The white haired girl was finicky about clothes whether she was Ino or Weiss it seemed. She said in Weiss's tone, "You have good taste Shizune; I've never seen a battle kimono before."

"Just remember it doesn't have heavy combat mesh below it so _don't_ get hit." advised Shizune in a serious tone of voice. Then she added humorously, "At least your combat sandals still fit."

"Yes, I'll have to get new ones once we are back in Konoha since they don't match." she said in Ino's tone. "Thank you so much Shizune-san."

Shizune waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll need a whole new wardrobe once we get back to Konoha."

….

" _I'm sure you'll need a whole new wardrobe once we get back to Konoha_." Yamanaka Inoichi heard out in the waiting room.

"Oh gods; I may have to mortgage the shop _and_ the house!" wailed the Yamanaka patriarch as he thought about his Princess going on a shopping spree.

"As long as I'm not involved." said Shikamaru. "Being a pack mule for a woman is entirely too troublesome for me."

Choji grinned and Asuma chuckled at Inoichi's horrible fate. The Yamanaka patriarch just hung his head between his hands and thought, ' _Mark my words; I'll rope you all into it somehow_.'

….

 **Fire Country, the road from Tanzaku Gai to Konoha**

"So how did you die brother? It's not like you are a _total_ weakling." Raven asked obnoxiously.

Qrow said, "Actually it's kind of embarrassing."

Raven grinned evilly and said, "I'll have to tell all my friends then."

"You have friends?" asked Qrow in exaggerated shock.

She growled, "Don't make me hurt you."

The lanky man shrugged. "I was fighting a battle below the top of Beacon Tower when a giant gear fell off of it and crushed me and the Grimm I was fighting. I saw a white light and _poof_ I was dead. I'll be damned if Oz didn't design those gears at the top of the tower just for that purpose. I never saw it coming until it was too late."

"Ouch." said Raven with a visible cringe. "We'll ask Ozpin when we get back to Konoha."

"Oz is here?!" asked Qrow in shock.

"Yeah, and he's still an idealistic idiot." said Raven. "He goes by Kakashi now. He's a jonin. It was him that convinced the Hokage to send out that letter to the various countries to warn them about the Creatures of Grimm."

"As in Copycat Kakashi?" he asked.

"That's him. How did you hear of him?" asked Raven.

Qrow pulled out a Bingo Book and said, "He's rather well known."

The girl nodded and said, "We'll be seeing Konoha soon. Try not to embarrass me too much."

Qrow just chuckled evilly….

….

 **Konoha, Akimichi Barbeque Restaurant**

Naruto and Blake were at the Akimichi Barbeque picking up food for Ayano and Pyrrha as well as themselves. Naruto was quietly chatting with Akimichi Choza about the situation with Ino at the counter. "After what happened with Shino it's hard not to worry about Ino too Choza."

Choza nodded and said reassuringly, "In our line of work there is always a chance of being injured. I've known Ino-chan since she was just a baby. Trust me; she'll make it through this. Sometimes you just have to rely on faith."

The blonde said, "I hope you're right Choza. I guess keeping a positive attitude helps a lot."

"Hope for the best but prepare for the worst." said Choza sagely. "That's what I always told my own genin team back in the day." Choza chuckled, "Speaking of preparing for the worst; what do you plan to do about Hyūga Neji? Maito Gai told me the boy has a major grudge against you going all the way back to the Chunin Exams."

Naruto frowned. "I was going to let it go but if he won't I'll put Neji in the hospital for the garbage he pulled. He still deserves a thrashing for hurting Hinata-chan anyway."

The big Akimichi scratched his chin and said, "Just don't forget he's your comrade. Once your match is over try to be friends no matter who wins or loses." They heard Naruto's name being called and Choza patted Naruto on the back. "It sounds like your order is up. Tell Ayano I said 'hi' Naruto."

Blake came over with their order in hand and said, "The food smells great. Let's head back to the flower shop Naruto-kun."

Naruto and Blake waved goodbye to Choza who smiled and waved back. ' _They are both good kids_.' thought the Akimichi patriarch. He mentally sighed, ' _I just hope Ino-chan is alright_ ….'

….

Naruto was carrying the food along with Blake as they headed back to the Yamanaka Flower Shop "….And that's what Choza said to me Blake-chan." explained Naruto. "Choji's Dad is a really good guy."

Blake nodded. "He sounds a lot like my Dad. He's really big and strong but gentle at the same time."

The blonde was going to ask about Blake's parents but they made it to the Yamanaka Flower Shop before he could ask any further.

As they came in they saw a grateful Ayano and Pyrrha waiting for them….

….

 **Fire Country, the road from Port City to Konoha**

Ino was getting used to the changes in her body. Suffice it to say she was a bit taller and her weight was distributed a bit different so the white haired kunoichi/huntress was a bit imbalanced. "This is going to take some work." complained the Yamanaka Heiress at her lack of coordination.

"It is to be expected." said Shizune. "You basically have a new body. Take it easy and pace yourself."

"Let me try." said the heiress in Weiss's tone. She immediately started making glyphs to shoot herself along much to everyone's shock. "I'll have to get used to chakra but I can still use my glyphs just fine."

The group travelled along at a medium pace and Ino and Weiss swapped out several times to learn each other's moves. Inoichi was keeping a psychic link with them to make sure the two young women were holding steady.

….

As they travelled Asuma called for a halt so they could rest in Ryokan-Mura Village which was a small roadside town that catered to travelers with several small restaurants and inns. They also had a hot springs. It was obvious to everyone that Ino and Weiss were both getting very fatigued due to their situation. The party soon found a restaurant that everyone could agree on and started discussing things as they ate….

Inoichi said, "These glyphs seem to be a very refined form of Yin release somewhere between Yamanaka and Nara jutsus. I see no reason why Ino couldn't use them. Likewise I believe Weiss could use Yamanaka mind jutsus once she learns to use chakra properly. On the other hand Weiss explained she has something like ice release. We'll have to look into that later."

The heiress said in Ino's vocal tone, "Is there any reason Weiss and I couldn't work in tandem and use our jutsus at the same time?"

The Yamanaka patriarch scratched his chin and looked over at Shizune who said, "The pair of you would be burning chakra at a prodigious rate but I don't see why it wouldn't be _theoretically_ possible. The question is whether the body could mold two different chakra patterns at once."

Seeing the eager look on his daughter's face; Inoichi said, "Princess, I don't want you two trying anything like that just yet. When we are back in the village in a controlled setting we'll look into it. I almost lost you once and I'm not about to do that again. It's for _both_ of your safeties."

Asuma nodded in agreement. The bearded Sarutobi jonin said, "The first thing we're going to do is get you two physically in shape and coordinated properly. Training your body is going to take a bit of time so just relax."

Choji polished off another plate of food and said, "Asuma-sensei and Uncle Inoichi are right. The last thing you need to do is push it after such a close call. Don't you think so Shika?"

The lazy boy nodded and said, "You need to learn to be a bit lazier or you'll do something troublesome like injure yourself."

Shizune chuckled and advised them, "Take it one small step at a time Ino and Weiss. You both have a lot to learn."

….

 **Konoha, Front Gates**

Team 8 arrived home with Qrow bringing up the rear. As they all signed in both Izumo and Kotetsu tried to make heads or tails of how the Branwens were related given how intense Raven was and how laid back Qrow seemed. Kurenai said they needed to see the Hokage to see about getting Qrow citizenship. About halfway to the Hokage Tower they saw Neji and Naruto marching towards the training grounds along with their teammates and senseis. Kiba said, "Oh shit; it's going down sensei! This I have to see." He took off at a trot with Akamaru.

Hinata smiled evilly and her eyes ignited, "Naruto-kun is going to grind Neji nii-san into paste. Let's go watch."

Raven had seen Naruto fight for real and thought, ' _This is going to be awesome!_ ' "Come on Kurenai-sensei; let's go!"

Kurenai sighed as her charges ran off. "I guess there's no stopping them."

Qrow asked Kurenai, "What's going on? Raven looked positively thrilled."

The genjutsu mistress said, "To make a long story short; the blonde is named Uzumaki Naruto. He and the long haired genin Hyūga Neji have had an intense rivalry brewing for some time. It looks like things have come to a head at last."

"Hmmm….I guess I'll be able to see what these kids can really do." said Qrow as he watched the genins rush off.

' _Considering how strong Naruto_ _has become_ _training under Jiraiya-sama I doubt Neji stands a chance_.' thought Kurenai. ' _Besides, Naruto swore on Hinata-chan's blood that he would make Neji pay for trying to kill her_ ….'

….

 **Training Ground 9**

"Just remember trash, you are fated to lose." said Neji haughtily. "There are losers and winners in this world and fate has made you a loser. You won't catch me off guard like last time Uzumaki."

Naruto glared and said, "Shut up and get ready to be buried! You want a fight and I'm going to give you one."

Gai felt the killing intent coming off Naruto and thought, ' _I hope this teaches you a lesson about humility Neji-kun_.' "I will be proctoring this match. When I say it is over, **the match is over**. Are both of you prepared to fight?"

The blonde nodded and said, "I'm ready Gai-sensei."

Neji said, "I am prepared."

"BEGIN!" called Gai as he jumped back so the fighters would have room to battle.

Pyrrha didn't look pleased with the situation and Blake looked downright angry. Tenten looked worried and Lee looked rather torn. ' _This whole situation is unyouthful. Neji-kun is fighting with vengeance in his heart_.'

The just arriving Team 8 saw Neji charging at Naruto in a blur. Naruto met him head on with a half powered rasengan in the chest which sent the Hyūga prodigy spinning across the training field before he crashed to the ground with busted ribs. Neji was laying face down and Naruto waited for him to get up. The branch house prodigy managed to get up to his hands and knees before he collapsed onto his side and passed out….

Gai announced in a solemn tone, "This match is over by knockout. Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." The Green Beast sighed and said, "I hope that you will both forgive each other and forget about this whole unyouthful debacle Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded at the Green Beast and said, "I'm very sorry about all of this Gai-sensei."

"Some fights can't be avoided." said Gai. "It appears this was one of them."

"Let's get Neji-kun to the hospital Gai." said Kakashi. "I don't think it's anything life threatening but he's going to wake up hurting like hell."

"Right you are my Eternal Rival." said the Green Beast. Kakashi waved at Qrow just as the two jonins vanished with Neji in a body flicker.

….

The other genins were gathered around Naruto talking. "That was really one sided man." said Kiba. "It was pretty anticlimactic."

Hinata wanted to kiss Naruto passionately but said, "Thank you for avenging me Naruto-kun." She gave him a gentle hug and whispered in his ear, " _I'll reward you properly later_."

"I'm just glad that's over." said Pyrrha. "Such grudges shouldn't be held between comrades."

Blake said, "Well, Neji got what was coming to him regardless."

Raven smiled shyly at Naruto, "Congratulations on your victory. You took him out in one shot."

Naruto said, "Thanks everybody."

Lee came over and said seriously, "Naruto-kun; I really hope you take Gai-sensei's advice to heart. Thank you for holding back." Naruto nodded.

"Maybe this will break Neji out of his blind belief in fate." said Tenten. "We'll see you later Naruto. Come on Lee-kun. We should be there when Neji-kun wakes up."

"Of course Tenten-chan; let's go." said Lee. The pair waved to everyone and went to the hospital to see their teammate.

Kurenai said, "Thank you for Hinata-chan's sake Naruto. I really don't approve of these things but you did swear a blood oath."

Qrow sat back and watched everyone's reactions to Naruto's one sided victory. He saw Blake and Pyrrha there and said, "Hello ladies; it's good to see you both alive."

Blake's amber eyes were wide open and Pyrrha's jaw dropped. "Qrow Branwen?! Is that you?" asked Blake in disbelief.

The scythe wielder chuckled, "In the flesh girls. How are you two doing? I just arrived here in Konoha."

Pyrrha smiled and said, "Welcome to Konoha then. I'm sure Kakashi will be glad to see you as well."

Qrow smiled and said, "Yeah, old Oz gave me a wave."

A few proper introductions were exchanged before Kurenai took Team 8 and Qrow off to see the Hokage….

….

 **Ryokan-Mura Village Inn**

That evening Team 10 decided to stay at Ryokan-Mura for the night. The stress of the whole mess in Snow Country made the genin team tired and Inoichi and Shizune simply were worn out from the trip the night before. That evening after a soak in the hot springs everyone turned in for the night. The white haired kunoichi/huntress went to bed in the room she was sharing with Shizune….

….

 _Weiss and Ino's mindscape…._

 _"Your Father is really nice." said Weiss as they sat themselves down at a low tea table in their shared mindscape._

 _The blonde genin nodded and said, "Daddy and Mama have always been great to me. They always put me first."_

 _"I wish my family had been that close." Weiss said wistfully. "Other than my big sister I wasn't close to any of them. I actually had to **escape** my Father. He had me locked up like an animal in a cage."_

 _"That's terrible!" said Ino appalled. "I'm sure my parents will welcome you like they did my good friend Pyrrha-chan."_

 _" **Pyrrha?!** " asked Weiss in shock. "As in Pyrrha Nikos?"_

 _Ino recoiled slightly at Weiss's outburst but said, "If you are enemies with my dear friend Pyrrha-chan or something then-"_

 _The former Schnee Heiress waved her hands. "No, no! It's nothing like that. Pyrrha was a good friend of mine from Team JNPR that died fighting a powerful enemy. I'm just shocked that she's here and….and alive! This is wonderful!"_

 _Ino looked tense and then said, "I knew Pyrrha-chan was from a place outside the Elemental Nations called Remnant but she never told me she **died**." _

_"She probably didn't want you to think she was crazy." said Weiss. "I wonder if she merged with someone too. Your Dad seems really checked out on this stuff."_

 _"Daddy is the top psychiatrist of the Yamanaka Clan. Mind jutsus are our clan's specialty. He must have been under oath to not reveal such information." said Ino in deep thought. ' That means Raven-chan and Blake-chan died too….what kind of damage would that do to one's psyche…? None of them have two personalities to my knowledge….' _

_Weiss tapped Ino's forehead and said, "Are you in there Ino?"_

 _Ino blinked and said, "Don't be rude! I was thinking what happened to you and Pyrrha-chan dying and all….It could have caused horrific damage to your psyche."_

 _The Schnee girl crossed her arms and said haughtily, "I assure you I'm **quite** sane Ino."_

 _Ino face faulted. "I never said you were insane Weiss. I'm just saying that such an experience could have caused post traumatic stress disorder or other issues. I feel bad that I never talked to Pyrrha-chan about it. Then again she's the nicest and most down to earth person I've ever met."_

 _Weiss grinned. "That's definitely Pyrrha."_

 _The two girls talked well into the night…._

….

 **Konoha, Raven Branwen's Apartment**

Raven said, "I guess you can crash on the couch Qrow but take a shower first."

"Will do." replied Qrow. "Where are the towels?"

"In the closet across from the bathroom." she answered. "Qrow…?"

"Yes?" he answered.

"Do you think Yang made it out okay?" asked Raven. "I was using my semblance to go to her when the white light got me too."

Qrow was silent for a few moments and said, "I honestly don't know. Blake might but I don't know if you want to ask her. She was partners with Yang after all."

….

 **Anko and Blake's Apartment**

"….And Naruto-kun knocked Neji out with a low powered rasengan to the chest nee-chan." said Blake "The Hyūga jerk passed out from the pain. We all figure he will be in the hospital for a while."

Anko smirked. "A rasengan huh? It probably busted his ribs or at least bruised them black and blue. Serves the arrogant little bastard right."

"I guess so." said the feline faunus girl in agreement. "It was over in a flash. I don't understand why Neji had such a superiority complex to begin with. I'm friends with Tenten and she said Neji was always really arrogant for some reason."

Anko shrugged. "There's always a prima donna in every group. The kid probably should thank Naruto-kun for knocking his block off before an enemy kills him because he thinks he's invincible. I'm sure Gai knows that too. Sometimes a big serving of humble pie will teach people like that some humility." Anko sipped her tea and asked, "So who is this Qrow person you mentioned?"

Blake smiled and said, "He's Yang and Ruby's Uncle and I guess he's Raven Branwen's older brother from what little was said. Qrow's also a really strong fighter from what I've seen. He's kind of irreverent and crass. You'd like him nee-chan."

Anko burst into laughter. "Irreverent and crass? Sounds like my kind of guy."

"I'll introduce you." said Blake. "I want to find out if he knows any more than Ilia and I do about Beacon falling. I don't know when or where he died. We really didn't get to talk much because Kurenai-sensei dragged him and Team 8 off to see the Hokage."

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

The orange loving blonde was practicing his meditation after he got out of the shower. The day had been stressful and he had a lot on his mind….

….

 _Naruto's mindscape…._

 _Naruto's eyes opened in a place he could only call a sewer. "Where am I? This is new. Jiraiya-sensei said I should seek inner peace instead of a place like this." As the blonde wandered around he saw an enormous cage with a single tag on it that said, 'Seal' upon it._

 _A huge red eye opened within the darkness of the cage and a rumbling voice said, " **So my jailer has finally come to grace me with his presence. Why did you come here ningen?** "_

 _The blonde said, "So you are the Kyubi….I came here by accident while meditating. I wasn't seeking you out."_

 _The ancient fox growled and said sarcastically, " **So you got lost in your own mind? You are truly pathetic ningen**."_

 _Naruto frowned. "I'm not going to argue with you fox. I don't understand why you attacked Konoha to begin with but that's why you were imprisoned. I had no choice in becoming your jailer. I was less than a day old so don't put the blame on me."_

 _Kyubi roared and unleashed a massive amount of killing intent on Naruto. The blonde countered with his own killing intent and his eyes began to glow as the wind picked up around him. The fox said, " **So you have Typhoon Release….interesting**."_

 _The blonde reeled in his killing intent and the winds died down. Naruto said, "This conversation is going nowhere. I'm out of here Kyubi."_

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto opened his eyes and saw his apartment was intact but it looked like a powerful wind had blown through the room and messed everything up. The orange loving ninja growled and thought, ' _When I activate my Typhoon Release in my mind it seems my body does it subconsciously as well_.' He made a dozen shadow clones and straightened up his apartment. ' _It seems like me getting hit with masses of killing intent can set it off_.' He looked out his window and saw circular cloud formations above his apartment complex in the sky that was slowly dissipating. ' _I have to be more careful_.' thought the blonde. "I wonder if Kyubi wasn't taunting me just to cause this sort of thing." he wondered aloud. "I'll have to talk to Jiraiya-sensei about this…."

….

 **Ryokan-Mura Village**

The next morning Team 10 and company set off for Konoha at a moderate pace. "We'll be home by this evening." said Asuma. "When we get to Konoha I want you to put a henge up of your old appearance Ino. Then we'll go straight to the Hokage Tower."

The Yamanka heiress nodded, "Got it Asuma-sensei. Konoha may not by ready for the new and improved me."

Shikamaru and Choji sweat dropped. The Nara heir simply muttered, "Troublesome." under his breath.

Ino thought to Weiss, ' _So you use a rapier? Cool. It's an elegant looking weapon_.'

' _Wait until you see what we can do with it_.' replied Weiss eagerly.

' _Tenten can make us a new Myrtenaster and we'll blow them all away_.' said Ino with a mental fist pump….

….

 **Konoha Hospital, Neji's room**

Neji was staring in disbelief at the letter his Father Hizashi had left him about his own fate and how he chose to die because he loved his brother Hiashi. The Branch House prodigy asked in a shaken voice, "Why did you not show this to me before Hiashi-sama?"

"You were so fixated on fate that you would never have believed me Neji." said Hiashi. "I could have gotten down on my hands and knees and you wouldn't have accepted the truth. What are you going to do with this knowledge Neji?"

Neji thought to himself, ' _Father, perhaps I can carve my own fate like you did_ ….' He shed a single tear and said, "I think I need to be alone for a little while Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi nodded and said, "Once you are well I will begin training you personally in the Main Branch techniques of the juken. You are my nephew after all."

….

Hiashi stepped out of Neji's room and saw Maito Gai there along with Neji's teammates sitting in the waiting room. The Clan Head looked tired but said, "Thank you for waiting. I think Neji needs a little time to reflect. I believe that he has finally realized that fate isn't everything."

Gai smiled and said, "That is wonderful news. Perhaps his fight with Uzumaki Naruto-kun was worth it after all."

"Yes; perhaps the shock _was_ worth it." agreed Hiashi.

Tenten asked, "Hiashi-sama, how are Neji's ribs?"

"He will recover in time." said Hiashi. "I was arrogant like Neji as a young teenager until a very fiery kunoichi named Uzumaki Kushina put me in my place…." Hiashi added wistfully, "It was a lesson well learned." The Hyūga Clan head bid them farewell and went on his way.

" ** _Uzumaki Kushina?_** " asked Tenten. "Is she…?"

Gai winked and said, "Uzumaki Kushina was known as 'the Red Hot Habanero' for her temper….and her temper was only surpassed by her beauty. She was a kage level kunoichi that I held in the greatest respect. Sadly she died in the Kyubi attack alongside the Fourth Hokage so many years ago. Let's leave it at that."

….

 **Training Ground 52**

Naruto stood alone and focused on the sky. He made a fist and his blue eyes lit up with power. The clouds in the sky started to swirl and a tornado like funnel started forming around Naruto as the power grew. The blonde's spiky hair whipped about in the center of the vortex. Seeing he'd managed to activate the Typhoon Release at will Naruto willed the maelstrom back into the sky and the clouds dissipated back into their normal patterns….Then he started going through his sword katas and the wind seemed to whip around him wherever he cut the air. Naruto felt the power of the wind soar inside of him and started streaming it through his blade. ' _I can feel the energy roaring through me. It's like a hurricane waiting to be unleashed. This is good. I need to hone it to split a waterfall next according to Jiraiya-sensei. I'll have to ask him and Kakashi-sensei for advice_.'

Unknown to Naruto he had an audience. Jiraiya was watching through his spyglass as he could feel the power from that distance. ' _That's it my apprentice. Well done!_ ' thought the white haired sanin.

Beside him was ANBU Cat who was a powerful sensor. She'd seen the whirlwind in the sky and was investigating what the source of the power was when she stumbled upon Jiraiya. Now Cat was watching Naruto through binoculars. "Jiraiya-sama, what kind of a jutsu is Uzumaki using? It feels like wind but it's a lot denser and much more massive."

Jiraiya grinned and said, "That, my dear Cat; is the little known _Typhoon Release_. I trust you can keep this little tidbit to yourself?"

"I thought it was extinct." she thought aloud. "I heard that power could level villages when completed."

Jiraiya nodded. "Naruto is just beginning to tap his potential. Mark my words; he'll be unbelievable once he's mastered it…."

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Next chapter Team 10 will return to Konoha and Weiss/Ino will meet up with friends both old and new. I'm trying to figure out if the duo will continue to go by separate names or just Ino. "Weino" was suggested by **acw28** in a review (which I thought was hilarious) but it wouldn't be very flattering. (Not that Ino-pig was).

Just a notation; Blake knows about Yang's Mother abandoning her but doesn't know Raven by name. Because Raven is 13-14 like the rest of them Blake hasn't made the connection. That will all come crashing down soon enough. See you next time. Blue out. 1/6/18


	34. Chapter 34

_**Naruto: Tornado of Souls**_

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

Wow, this is a real milestone for me. Tornado of Souls broke 2000 reviews. I never thought I'd see that on any of my stories. Thanks everyone for their support! I'm attempting to get back in the groove of writing but working two jobs makes it difficult so updates will continue to be slow. I did manage to churn out a new project based on Ghost in the Shell. It's called **_Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Dive_** for those interested. Here is chapter 34. Enjoy!

[ ] Signifies hand signs.

Last time:

 ** _Training Ground 52_**

 _Naruto stood alone and focused on the sky. He made a fist and his blue eyes lit up with power. The clouds in the sky started to swirl and a tornado like funnel started forming around Naruto as the power grew. The blonde's spiky hair whipped about in the center of the vortex. Seeing he'd managed to activate the Typhoon Release at will Naruto willed the maelstrom back into the sky and the clouds dissipated back into their normal patterns….Then he started going through his sword katas and the wind seemed to whip around him wherever he cut the air. Naruto felt the power of the wind soar inside of him and started streaming it through his blade. '_ _I can feel the energy roaring through me. It's like a hurricane waiting to be unleashed. This is good. I need to hone it to split a waterfall next according to Jiraiya-sensei. I'll have to ask him and Kakashi-sensei for advice_ _.'_

 _Unknown to Naruto he had an audience. Jiraiya was watching through his spyglass as he could feel the power from that distance. '_ _That's it my apprentice. Well done!_ _' thought the white haired sanin._

 _Beside him was ANBU Cat who was a powerful sensor. She'd seen the whirlwind in the sky and was investigating what the source of the power was when she stumbled upon Jiraiya. Now Cat was watching Naruto through binoculars. "Jiraiya-sama, what kind of a jutsu is Uzumaki using? It feels like wind but it's a lot denser and much more massive."_

 _Jiraiya grinned and said, "That, my dear Cat; is the little known_ _Typhoon Release_ _. I trust you can keep this little tidbit to yourself?"_

 _"I thought it was extinct." she thought aloud. "I heard that power could level villages when completed."_

 _Jiraiya nodded. "Naruto is just beginning to tap his potential. Mark my words; he'll be unbelievable once he's mastered it…."_

 _…._

Chapter 34

 **Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower**

It was late afternoon when Team 10 arrived in Konoha. Ino and Weiss were both excited yet worried at the same time. Ino was afraid her Mother Ayano wouldn't accept her despite the fact her Father Inoichi already had. However, the first place they had to report to was the Hokage Tower. Ino entered the Hokage's office under the henge of Ino's old appearance. Hiruzen immediately detected this and said, "You may dispense with the henge genin Yamanaka. If you were cosmetically injured we have specialists that can take care of that sort of thing."

Ino smiled and said, "As you wish Hokage-sama." She twirled and released her henge showing her white hair and shapelier figure. "This is the new me; what do you think?"

Hiruzen put down his pipe and looked at Shizune who looked a bit sheepish. Then he looked at Inoichi and said, "I have my suspicions but _please explain_ Inoichi."

Inoichi said, "My daughter Yamanaka Ino has joined with Weiss Schnee of Remnant in a case of transmigration. This is their new form."

Shizune said, "Both Inoichi and I were there throughout the entire process and documented it Hokage-sama. I believe we have a greater understanding of the transmigration process than ever."

The aged Hokage sighed. "I take it young Ino was dead or dying?" he asked Asuma. "I only have your reports up to the point of you arriving in Port City which requested medical help for genin Yamanaka when you said she was badly injured."

Asuma nodded. "The Doctor in Port City didn't realize how bad the damage was and failed."

Hiruzen asked Ino, "So young Ino, did you fuse with this Weiss Schnee person?"

Ino shook her head and said, "Weiss and I are partners now Hokage-sama. We decided to stay together as friends sharing one body. Our bodies fused but our personalities didn't. With your permission I will introduce you to Weiss sir."

"Proceed." said Hiruzen. "I hope this works out for both of you."

Weiss curtseyed and said, "I am Weiss Schnee and I am honored to meet you Hokage-sama. I was a Huntress in Remnant that….died in battle against the enemy. I wish to join Konoha as Ino's partner."

The Hokage nodded and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Weiss-san. I assume your new appearance is from your side of the fusion?"

Weis nodded and said, "For the most part we are a combination in appearance. We have my white hair but Ino's pupil-less eyes. Both of us are working hard to acclimate to our new body."

"Other fusions have had the same issues." said the Hokage. "Just give it time." Hiruzen looked at Inoichi and said, "A prominent heiress completely changing appearance could cause quite an uproar. Do you think the Yamanaka Clan will accept this Inoichi?"

Inoichi nodded, "My clan is made up of mind walkers and those of age have been informed of the transmigrations that have been going on as you instructed. It will take time but I believe it will all work out."

The elder Sarutobi glanced over at ANBU Hawk (otherwise known as Yamanaka Seiko) who subtly nodded in agreement. The Hokage said, "Then the only problem I see is the rest of the Village accepting the situation. Unfortunately this is going to set a public precedent. It can't be explained away without a great deal of questions being asked."

Hiruzen scratched his chin and said to Ino and Weiss, "For now I want you two and the Yamanaka Clan to adjust to your new situation and keep a low profile. Travel under a henge for now. It will be hard for your family to adapt; particularly for Ayano. Once you are both are settled with the Yamanakas as their Heiress then we will come up with an appropriate cover story. I fear admitting the transmigration from Remnant outside of ninja corps will lead to real problems. I'll expect full reports from all of you on this matter."

….

 **Yamanaka Flower Shop**

Ayano was closing up the flower shop with Pyrrha's help. She'd been worried sick about Ino and decided to close early. That was when Inoichi came in with a beautiful white haired girl in tow. "Inoichi-kun?" asked Ayano.

Pyrrha came out of the back and said, "Hello again! Inoichi, you made it back! Is Ino-chan –WEISS?"

Weiss smiled and said, "Pyrrha! I'm so happy to see you!" The two young women embraced as they shed tears of joy. When they separated Weiss said, "I never thought I'd see you again."

The redhead asked "Is Ino-chan with you?"

Weiss nodded and said, "We are both in this body. Here, Ino wants to talk to you."

The heiress blinked and said, "Pyrrha-chan! Weiss and I are partners now. I'm so glad to be home."

Ayano came over and said, "Ino-chan, let me look at you." she had tears in her eyes and gently touched the new Ino's cheek. "Your eyes….you are still my Ino-chan…." Ayano cried before she embraced Ino. "Your Daddy told me what happened. My baby girl; you've been through so much."

Ino hugged her Mother tightly. "I've missed you Mama; it was hard."

….

The family was soon sitting down together in the house discussing things. "So you are Weiss." said Ayano. "Welcome to our home. It will take some time but I'm sure we can all adjust."

"Is my appearance okay Mama?" asked Ino. "I….I've changed a lot and I was worried."

Ayano smiled through watery eyes and said "You are beautiful my baby girl."

Weiss and Ino switched out from time to time and spoke with Pyrrha, Ayano and Inoichi about everything. It was awkward at first but soon the family was getting to know Weiss Schnee as their own.

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto had just gotten out of the shower from his training and was hoping his Hinata-chan would be able to make it over this evening. He heard a knocking on his door and saw his beautiful byakugan hime standing there smiling at him. The two lovers quickly embraced and engaged in a soul searing kiss that took each other's breath away. They were running their hands over each other's bodies when they heard a gasp. Hinata and Naruto turned and realized they'd left the apartment door open and Choji was standing there blushing profusely….

"Ah….uh, ha-ha-Hello Choji!" gasped out Naruto. "We didn't see you there!" Hinata was sporting a full body blush and Naruto wasn't doing much better.

Choji squeaked out, "S-sorry I interrupted you."

"I-it's our fault for leaving the door open." said Hinata weakly.

Naruto cleared his throat in embarrassment and said, "What brings you by Choji? I heard Ino was injured from Ayano-san. How is she?"

The big boned boy was grateful for the change of subject and said, "Ino is okay but she _changed_ because of transmigration. She wants to see you and Blake….I'm sure Hinata is welcome too. I came to get you Naruto. Shikamaru went to see Blake at her apartment with Anko-san."

Hinata took on a concerned look. "Choji; who did Ino merge with?"

The Akimichi heir smiled softly and said, "She merged with a white haired girl named Weiss Schnee. They seem a lot alike."

' _The Schnee heiress_ ….' thought Hinata. ' _I hope we can get along_.'

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

"What do you mean _Cinder Fall is here_ Pyrrha?!" Weiss practically shrieked. " _She's the enemy!_ She _killed_ you!"

Pyrrha put her hands on Weiss' shoulders. "I know it's hard to believe but Cinder is our friend now. She merged with Hinata. If you don't believe me ask Ino and ask Blake-chan when she gets here. Cinder no longer serves Salem." Pyrrha said in a reasonable tone, "If I can forgive her then you can too. Besides, she died seconds after I did thanks to Ruby."

The Yamanaka heiress blinked and said, "You're saying that Hinata-chan merged with some _evil witch_ named Cinder Fall? Is that why she changed so much?"

Pyrrha sighed. "Blake-chan and I have fully accepted Hinata for who she is and you should too Ino-chan. I understand Weiss being suspicious but you have no reason to be. It took Blake-chan and I a while to accept her but she is our dear friend now –and she never stopped being your friend Ino-chan."

Ino relaxed her posture and said, "I guess you are right Pyrrha-chan but Weiss isn't very happy."

"Things will work out." said Pyrrha with a reassuring smile.

….

 **Naruto's Apartment**

After Choji departed Hinata said to Naruto, "Perhaps you and Blake-chan should go. Weiss Schnee was an enemy of mine and I don't want to start a fight with her. She's good friends with Blake-chan and Pyrrha-chan though so we can take it slow."

Naruto looked forlorn and said, "Are you sure Hinata-chan? I wanted to spend the evening with you."

Hinata kissed him sweetly and said, "Given Weiss's attitude I'm sure she'll have a fit if I show up. I'll come over tomorrow if I can."

The two lovers kissed each other again and bid one another good night before Naruto went to Blake's apartment to escort her over to the Yamanaka's home….

….

Blake met Naruto halfway. She smiled at her lover and said, "Naruto-kun! Did you hear Ino is okay?"

Naruto nodded and smiled softly. "Choji told us she merged with Weiss Schnee who is a friend of yours? ….Hinata-chan decided not to go because she was afraid a fight would break out." he added sadly.

The feline faunus girl looked surprised and then said, "Hinata-chan is right. I didn't even think about that since she is mine and Pyrrha-chan's close friend now." ' _We even share the same guy. Weiss is going to blow her stack if she finds out!_ '

Blake and Naruto walked over to the Yamanaka residence together as Blake explained things to him. "There was Team RWBY which was made up of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, myself and Yang Xiao Long. Ruby and Yang are sisters and I hope they are safe. Pyrrha-chan was on Team JNPR which was made up of Jaune Arc, Pyrrha, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. They were our best friends in Beacon Academy." Then Blake's ears drooped. "Cinder Fall was one of those responsible for causing Beacon Academy to fall along with others including Emerald Sustrai….You already know about Cinder killing Pyrrha-chan and the rest…."

Naruto looked shocked. "You mean little Em-chan was one of your mortal enemies?" ' _Here I am teaching her how to prank!_ ' he thought in horror.

Blake's ears perked back up at the alarm on her boyfriend's face and she giggled. "Emerald was de-aged back into a child somehow Naruto. She's innocent as she can be now."

"Oh good." said Naruto. "I was afraid this Weiss girl would hate Em-chan too."

The feline faunus smiled. "Weiss will have to adjust but I really doubt she'll hold much of a grudge against Emerald anyway." As the Yamanaka Flower Shop came into view Blake said, "I guess we're here already. Weiss acts a bit stuck up but she's a good person deep down. I think you'll get along with her just fine Naruto."

Naruto grinned, "Well, I have to play nice with my girlfriends' friends."

Blake laughed before she knocked on the door to the Yamanaka residence. The two teens waited patiently when they heard Ayano's voice say, "Coming!" through the door.

Ayano opened the door with a welcoming smile and said, "Blake-chan, Naruto-kun; welcome! Please come in!"

Seeing the crowd there Naruto said to Blake, "Looks like a party is in full swing." They saw Choji and Shikamaru were there with their parents and food was everywhere (obviously brought by the Akimichis). Sarutobi Asuma was there and several members of the Yamanaka Clan were there along with Inoichi, Ayano and of course; Ino who looked a bit overwhelmed as she stood talking with Pyrrha.

Blake quietly slipped through the crowd to see Weiss. She said, "Weiss Schnee; I never thought I'd see you again!"

Weiss turned to Blake and there was joy in her eyes. "Blake!" The two girls embraced and Weiss said, "We looked all over for you! I'm so glad you're alive!"

"It was a rough ride there for a while but everything worked out." said Blake happily. "Enough about me Weiss; how are you? Shikamaru said you and Ino are roommates now."

The Schnee heiress grinned and said, "Ino and I get along pretty good. I think things will turn out well. Here; Ino wants to talk to you."

The white haired girl blinked and said with Ino's mannerisms, "Blake, I'm so glad you're here! Did you bring Naruto-kun with you? I want him to see my new look." Then she whispered, "Do you think he'll like me this way? I look so different. Pyrrha-chan says I look great but I wanted a second opinion since you're Naruto-kun's teammate too."

Blake resisted the urge to grind her teeth and say ' _No; he's_ _ **mine**_ _!_ ' but said, "You look fine Ino. You might want to talk to Weiss about Naruto-kun first though."

Ino looked surprised and then though to Weiss, ' _I want you to meet the guy I like. He's brave and really strong_.'

' _How handsome is he?_ ' asked Weiss. ' _We've got to have some standards you know_.'

' _He's more cute than handsome_.' said Ino. ' _Uzumaki Naruto-kun has a great body under his tracksuit….The guy I used to like was gorgeous but he went totally psycho. I learned that looks aren't everything_.'

Weiss gave a mental shrug and said, ' _Let's meet this Naruto person then_.'

….

Naruto was talking with Shikamaru and Choji about what happened on their mission. "That sounds like it was a total disaster from the start." said the orange loving ninja. "I'm really sorry to hear about Asuma-sensei being injured but poor Ino. She's been through a lot recently."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Hopefully her bad luck streak is over now. First Sasuke, then Sakura and now this."

Choji munched on a handful of chips. "Well, on the positive side Ino's new partner Weis seems to be a fairly nice person."

"That's encouraging." agreed Naruto. "I hope the two of them do alright sharing one body."

….

Ino looked about and her blue eyes zeroed in on Naruto talking to her teammates. ' _There he is. Yum; he's wearing a tight black t-shirt_.'

The last thing Naruto was expecting was a girl he didn't recognize to call out his name joyously and then envelop him in a tight hug so he could feel _all_ of her assets rubbing up against him. Suffice it to say he was caught off guard and he took a step back. Blushing, he asked, "You are…?"

Ino gave him a huge smile and said, "It's me, Ino-chan! I'm so glad you could make it Naruto-kun. What do you think of my new look?"

Naruto was taken a bit aback and saw Pyrrha's eyebrow twitching and Blake grinding her teeth behind the white haired girl. Pyrrha forced a smile and said, "She looks like a _princess_ doesn't she?"

"Ummm….Yeah! You look like a princess Ino!" stammered the orange loving blonde. "Sorry I didn't recognize you."

"It's okay; _obviously_ my two teammates forgot to point me out." growled Ino accusingly. Then she turned back to Naruto and brightened up. "Let me introduce you to my new partner Weiss Schnee." said Ino.

Ino blinked and her posture became more formal. Weiss scrutinized Naruto for a moment with her blue eyes and said, "Greetings; I'm Weiss Schnee. I'm pleased to meet you Uzumaki Naruto."

They shook hands and Naruto said, "It's nice to meet you too Weiss-san. Welcome to Konoha."

….

Weiss did her best to spend the evening talking with Pyrrha and Blake while Ino did her best to talk to Naruto. It was a strange thing to observe from the point of view of Asuma, Choji and Shikamaru.

"This is troublesome to watch." said the resident genius. "You can tell who is in control by who they are talking to."

"Ah, to be young and _insane_ ….I mean _in love_." said Asuma wistfully.

Choji chuckled. "I think _insane_ is what you meant sensei."

….

After the impromptu party; Ino and Weiss took a shower and turned in early as they were both tired. They were discussing things in their shared mind….

 _Weiss and Ino's mindscape…._

"I'm so happy that Pyrrha and Blake are here." said Weiss.

Ino nodded. "Wait until you meet Raven-chan. She arrived recently but she has already become my good friend."

The Schnee girl asked, "Who is this Raven person? Was she a huntress?"

"Her name is Raven Branwen." said Ino. "She has black hair and red eyes. Do you know her?"

Weiss's face went pale. ' _She's Yang's Mom who abandoned her!_ ' "Ummm, I know _of_ her but I don't _know_ her personally."

Ino smiled. "Well, this is a chance to make a new friend then. Raven-chan is really tough but she's nice too."

"I-I'll look forward to meeting her." said Weiss nervously. ' _What am I going to say to the woman?_ ' "Ummm, just out of curiosity; how old is Raven?"

"I guess Raven is 13 or 14 like the rest of us." replied Ino. "I never really asked. Why?"

"I was under the impression she was older from what I've heard." answered Weiss. "I just wondered really…."

Then Ino said to Weiss, " ** _So_** ; what do you think of Naruto-kun?"

Weiss said, "Well, he seems like a nice enough guy but his table manners aren't the greatest and he's a bit too informal for my tastes."

"Naruto-kun grew up an orphan." said Ino. "It's a wonder he has any manners at all. Besides, he's warm and fun! You just need to get to know him better."

Weiss didn't look convinced but she said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to get to know him then." ' _He seems like an okay guy but he isn't cool like Neptune was_.'

Soon the two young women bid each other goodnight so they could rest….

….

 **Raven Branwen's Apartment**

Kakashi was visiting the Branwen twins. "So you're actually the Spring Maiden." said Kakashi. "I'm surprised you were willing to share that information with me."

Raven huffed. "Well, if I hadn't then my idiot brother would have. He couldn't keep such a secret to himself from you Oz."

Qrow sipped on his flask. "We're all on the same side now Raven. Both the Fall and the Spring Maidens are out of Salem's grasp. Now we have to make sure to keep you both safe."

"I don't need to be coddled." growled Raven.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "You'll do fine with Kurenai and your teammates. With two Maidens on one team you probably could overpower most enemies regardless."

"I'm surprised you don't want me on your team were you can supervise me Kakashi." said Raven irritably.

"You just want to be close to Naruto-kun." replied Kakashi with a chuckle.

Raven blushed and sputtered out, "T-that's nonsense!"

"Your blush says otherwise." laughed the jonin. "So how did you discover that your sister was the Spring Maiden Qrow?"

Qrow shivered at his sister's glare. "I was sleepy and kind of forgot my flask in the bathroom (Kakashi sweat dropped) and went back in to get it after my shower."

" ** _WITHOUT KNOCKING!_** " roared Raven.

"Calm down Raven- _chan_." said Qrow dismissively. "Anyway, I pulled the shower curtain aside-"

"You actually had your flask of whiskey physically in the shower with you?" asked Kakashi.

Qrow stopped and said, "Doesn't everybody?" Raven nodded in agreement and the jonin face palmed.

"You were saying…?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh yeah….Anyway I pulled the shower curtain aside and there was Raven in her birthday suit." said Qrow with a shrug. Raven glared hotly and the scythe wielding man continued. "It was really no big deal but she started screeching like a banshee and-"

"I was _BUCK NAKED_ you idiot!" yelled his sister with blazing eyes. "Of course I screamed!"

"We've seen each other naked before!" retorted Qrow. "We used to bathe together!"

" _WE WERE LITTLE KIDS YOU IDIOT!_ " bellowed Raven. "You _don't_ walk in on a _LADY_ when she's showering!"

"You aren't a _LADY_ ; you're my sister!" said Qrow heatedly.

"Don't make me freeze you again…." hissed Raven.

Kakashi said, "You FROZE him?!"

Raven blushed. "It was the only thing I could think of to do at the time."

Qrow sighed. "So after that she slid me over by the space heater and thawed me out. After that I questioned why she suddenly could freeze people and why her eyes lit up. Raven explained she was secretly the Spring Maiden."

"….Thawed you out with a space heater…." mumbled Kakashi. "How is it the pair of you always get into such trouble over trivial things? You've been like that since you were children."

" _It's his/her fault Oz!_ " yelled the twins as they pointed at each other.

Kakashi just sighed…. ' _I swear; they still_ _ **are**_ _children mentally_ ….'

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Naruto had (privately) kissed his radiant red haired girlfriend goodbye and was thinking about how beautiful Pyrrha was and how difficult it was to spend time together since the Yamanakas treated her like a daughter. ' _It's impossible for Pyrrha-chan to spend the night because of her curfew. Same goes for Hinata-chan. Damn_.'

"A ryo for your thoughts Naruto-kun?" asked Blake as they walked along together.

Naruto whispered, "I was just thinking how Pyrrha-chan and Hinata-chan have curfews and how you don't my cat eared hime. I wish I could spend more time with all of you."

Blake bumped hips playfully with Naruto. She whispered back, "I'm lucky Anko nee-chan lets me stay out all night. I wish I could come over and play tonight Naruto-kun but we have training at the crack of dawn tomorrow so I need a little sleep." The young couple soon kissed each other goodnight inside Blake's apartment and Naruto went home for the night to dream about his three beautiful himes….

….

 **Training Ground 52**

The next morning at precisely 7AM the members of Team 7 all arrived at their designated training grounds. Naruto, Pyrrha and Blake all exchanged greetings and looked eager to go. Kakashi was soon there in a body flicker with a double eye smile on his face. "Looks like we've got a mission kiddies." said the jonin. "The Hokage designated us specifically for this job."

"Is it Grimm extermination?" asked Blake.

Kakashi shook his head. "Actually we're looking for missing people in the Village of Kaisei near the border of Hot Springs Country. We really don't have a lot of details. If it is Grimm we'll wipe them out."

The three genins were soon looking over the mission details. "The people missing seem to be of different ages and social standings; both men and women….I don't see a pattern here." said Pyrrha.

"I don't either." commented Blake. "Maybe something will become apparent when we get there."

"We'd better pack for a long term mission." said Naruto. "This might take some time."

"Right you are Naruto." quipped Kakashi. "Pack for three weeks and meet at the front gates in two hours."

"Hai sensei!" answered the three genins.

….

Naruto stopped in to visit Hinata before he left only to be delayed by the two Hyūga gate guards. "What business do you have with our Heiress?" asked the straight laced guard.

"I came to tell her I'm going on a three week mission." said Naruto.

"We'll pass it along." said the other guard.

Naruto growled, "I wish to tell her personally." His killing intent gave the two guards the chills.

"O-our Heiress is very busy Uzumaki." said the straight laced guard. "She doesn't have time for-"

"Doesn't have time for what?" asked Hinata who appeared from nowhere. "I sensed Naruto's killing intent and came out to see him." She glared at the guards. "Naruto-kun is my dear friend. If he comes to see me then let him pass."

"I'm very sorry my Lady." said the two guards as one.

Hinata nodded and turned to Naruto with a smile. "Come in Naruto-kun; let's go inside and talk…."

The two young lovers were soon in Hinata's room where they shared a heated good morning kiss. "I hate to see you leave for so long but a mission is a mission." said Hinata.

Naruto kissed her again and said, "I'll be thinking about you Hinata-chan."

….

 **Yamanaka Residence**

Pyrrha told Ino and Weiss goodbye and left the white haired girl a bit depressed. ' _Rats! I was hoping for some bonding time_.' thought Weiss.

' _I was too_.' thought Ino forlornly. ' _I wanted to spend time with Pyrrha-chan and Naruto-kun_.' "I know, let's go visit Raven-chan! I wasn't able to see her last night."

Weiss mentally cringed and said, ' _I guess I should meet her_ ….'

….

When Ino and Weiss reached Raven's apartment and knocked on the door; Ino came to a realization. ' _Wait a minute! Raven-chan won't recognize me in this form!_ '

' _Now you think of it!_ ' said Weiss. ' _What should we do?_ '

Before Ino could gather her thoughts the door opened revealing….Qrow Branwen. He said, "Raven's out; can I help y- WEISS SCHNEE…?" He saw her pupil-less eyes and said, "Or maybe I'm mistaken."

Weiss immediately took charge of her shared body and said, "It's me Qrow, Weiss from Team RWBY. I had no idea you were here. You vanished after the Fall of Beacon."

Qrow stepped back and motioned Weiss inside. "It seems we've got a lot to talk about Weiss. I knew about Pyrrha and Blake as well as Oz but I didn't realize you were here too."

"Ozpin is here?" asked Weiss astonished as she sat down.

"You know him as Kakashi." said Qrow. "I just got in town so I have yet to meet everybody."

Weiss nodded and said, "I just arrived last night. I'm sharing a body with Yamanaka Ino. Let me introduce her…."

….

 **Konoha Front Gates**

Team 7 assembled at 9AM and signed out with Izumo and Kotetsu at the front gates of the village. Kakashi said, "Looks like we're off Team 7. It will take us about three days to get there at an easy pace. Let's move out."

….

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, Ino and Weiss are having a confusing time. Since Pyrrha and Blake are gone on a mission it's fortunate she ran into Qrow. Next chapter we'll kick off the Kaisei Village Arc. See you next time. Blue out. 4/25/18


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